By Dan Balz
DAYTON, Ohio -- At a time when the nation needs inspiration and confidence-building, the two candidates running for president are trying to ensure that whoever ends up winning next month will be seen as unfit by a sizable portion of the population.

To see the two candidates in a pair of appearances here in Ohio over the past two days is to see John McCain and Barack Obama attacking each other not just because of their different visions and prescriptions for the problems the country is now facing, but going straight at each other over character, fitness and behavior.

McCain calls Obama, in essence, a liar, a man whose history and background is one of shifting positions, inflated claims and questionable behavior. His campaign has attacked Obama for his relationship with William Ayers, who was part of a domestic terrorist group during the Vietnam War.

McCain appeared with running mate Sarah Palin on Wednesday evening at a boisterous rally in Strongsville, Ohio, just south of Cleveland. Palin, in her remarks, criticized Obama and running mate Joe Biden for looking backward in an attempt to assign blame. When McCain took the microphone, he did exactly that with a series of criticisms designed to say that Obama bears some direct responsibility for the current economic crisis.

Worse, he said, Obama has not told the truth about what he has done, nor answered critics. Instead, McCain said, Obama has challenged his credibility. "Let me reply in the plainest terms I know," he said. "I don't need lessons about telling the truth to the American people. If I ever needed an improvement in that regard, I probably wouldn't seek the advice of a Chicago politician."

Obama arrived in Dayton late Thursday morning to begin a two-day bus tour of Ohio. His focus, according to the campaign, is jobs, jobs, jobs. But his remarks were mixed with personally dismissive rhetoric about his rival as someone who would not be trustworthy in the Oval Office during a crisis.

Obama couched his criticism in the context of McCain's shifting positions on the economic crisis, in particular McCain's new plan to bail out the housing industry by having the government buy up bad loans, renegotiate them at a lower level and absorb the difference.

Obama said the McCain plan would reward bad behavior by banks, enrich real estate speculators and cost the taxpayers a bundle. "It's a plan that would guarantee that you, the American taxpayers, would lose," he said.

He might have stopped there, since he had made clear his differences with McCain. But he went further, and his words sent a different and far more negative message to the audience. "I don't think we can afford that kind of erratic and uncertain leadership in these uncertain times," he said, adding, "We need a president we can trust in times of crisis."

The candidates are long past the fiction that they admire and respect each other. Obama may pay homage to McCain's service and sacrifice during Vietnam, but there is little else he seems to find admirable in a politician who has, over the years, bucked his party leadership on numerous occasions and worked productively with Democrats on the left and in the center.

McCain has talked about his rival as someone whose rise and success are inspirational for all Americans, but whatever measure he took of Obama as a senator has left a more indelible impression on him -- and it is mostly negative. He obviously believes Obama isn't equipped to be commander in chief and doesn't have the toughness needed to get things done.

It was always clear that a McCain-Obama race would feature sharp contrasts in policy. Though both have professed interest in governing across party lines, they start from dramatically different places. They also have different styles of leadership. McCain is direct, pointed, visceral. Obama is cerebral, inquisitive, analytical. Both look to build consensus but in their own ways.

All of this is grist for the voters and appropriately so. But in these last weeks of the campaign, Obama and McCain are going farther in their efforts to raise doubts about each other. McCain's code is to suggest something sinister about Obama, to say there is something lurking in his past that Americans should fear. Obama, by using the word "erratic" to describe his rival seems to suggest that he is in some way unstable and therefore unacceptable.

Obama's words undermine not just McCain's positions but his person. McCain's rhetoric feeds the doubts that are out there about Obama. In conversations with some of the people who attended the rally in Strongsville on Wednesday, I was struck by several who said they fear an Obama presidency.

Both candidates and their campaigns justify this turn as the fault of the other -- or the natural rhythms of a tough contest heading into its decisive days. Obama's campaign resents, deeply, the use of Ayers to attack their candidate. McCain's campaign believes Obama has been given a pass by the media and therefore has to take action itself to raise issues they think the press has deliberately ignored.

Because he is losing right now, McCain is on a more urgent mission to turn around his campaign. Because he is under attack, Obama feels the need to show he won't let his rival push him around. The effect is the same, which is to degrade the political dialogue at a moment when the nation faces some of the most difficult challenges in a generation or more.

In a month, one of these candidates will have won and the other will be asked to help rally behind the new leader to tackle the economic crisis. That would have been easier if the dialogue had not turned as it has the past few weeks.

Not that facts matter to any Republicans, but ACORN doesn't have anything to do with votes. They are a community group that has volunteers and hourly employees go around to events and neighborhoods registering people to vote. That's all- registering. Not voting. Since it is against the law not to turn in a registration once it has been filled out, ACORN turns in all forms to the local government- just like the law mandates. They do go to the extra step to flag "suspect" registrations, but it would be illegal for them to toss out suspect registrations. After all, someone named their kid Ima Hogg- so who is to say what is valid and what isn't. That is the job of the local government. The suspect registrations might have been filled out by an hourly worker who took a nap instead of walking their route, or someone trying to make mischief or just a student wanting to fill out a form like their friends are, even though they know they don't qualify- because of some type of conviction. However ACORN winds up with a suspect registration, they are still legally required to turn it in. Also, no one has ever shown that an invalid ACORN registration ever lead to a fraudulent vote.

I particularly liked when Obama and Biden get their crowds to shout "Geezer! Sit down gramps." at media members over 50. Oh yeah, and Obama's reference to McCain's "honorable" service for which Republicans and Democrats owe him "gratitude," is definitely equivalent to McCain's refrain about Obama not putting America first or minding if we lose a war.

Why does Balz write such long columns? "They both did it, I'm not biased because I give them equal grades regardless of what they've done" would concisely cover everything he's written.

Balz is right. That last Obama speech, where he got the crowd all charged up and screaming "He's erratic!" causing a violent segment of the crowd to break off down the street and begin threatening any passing motorists with intermittent wipers was truly blood-curdling.
The campaigns being run by the two candidates are precisely the same. Balz was dead on, as usual.

I will add to my prior comments - and I've seen this sentiment elsewhere - that the McCain campaign is by all indication inciting a dangerous mob mentality with their outrageous claims of Senator Obama "palling" with terrorists and accusing him of socialist tendencies - a lightening rod for the rightwing of the GOP.

It has been reported just this week by respected journilist, Dana Milbank, that the crowds attending Gov. Palin's rallies are growing increasingly troubling and boisterous, shouting "Kill him!" and "Terrorist!" when Palin attempts to smear Senator Obama's character with false claims. They've turned on reporters and made racial slurs aimed at an African American videographer. I also saw a police report of a man in the south somewhere who threatened his polling agent's life if they didn't allow him to vote by paper ballot to ensure that the [n-word] didn't get voted into office. It's not the mudslinging first initiated by Senator McCain that has me worried, it's the safety of Senator Obama as a result of the over-the-top lies coming from the Rightwing, the GOP--- and yes, sadly the McCain campaign. These are very troubling times economically for our country and inciting riotous behavior is merely the next step for an escalating mob mentality. Now, contrast the McCain/Palin rallies now to Senator Obama's to see the fevered pitch the McCain campaign is instigating in their base as opposed to Senator Obama's peaceably lively rallies.

Perhaps Mr. Balz SHOULD focus more attention on that the angry mob resulting from the McCain campaign's volatile lies?

Balz saw an entirely different debate than I did. In my estimation, Senator Obama addressed the allegations that have been falsely aimed at his character by Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin, and yet seamlessly managed, regardless of time constraints, to clarify his position quite well on many issues. He performed a juggling act between outrageous attacks and serious questions on issues. He did NOT appear to go into that debate to attack McCain personally, but was obviously armed for the assault we all expected. If John Kerry's campaign told us anything it was that not acknowledging or responding to the lies and character assassination was fatal to his chances of winning.

Senator Obama did make clear the holes in Senator McCain's policies and past policy positions and THAT was what we also needed to hear.

Senator McCain spent the week leading up to this debate setting off a series of false or tenuous accusations against Barack that have called into question the candidate's character and his personal choices. He's been accused of everything from "palling" with terrorists to voter fraud to raising taxes on those making $42K - all lies, and all alarming, given the ease to which they've been spread by the McCain campaign. For McCain to avoid facing Obama with those smears was a detriment to his own character and said volumes about the Senator that puts the "maverick" status well behind him and in the trash bin.

For Balz to equate this kind of dirty campaigning as a balance between camps on gutter sniping frankly seems like canned biased reporting to me. After all, it would've helped if Balz had truthfully acknowledged the fact that Senator McCain promised a clean campaign without dirty politics - only to bring on board those same agents of slime who did the dirtiest of deeds on his campaign against Bush in 2000.

Thanks Mr. Balz for showing us neutrality in journalism is out the window as far you're concerned.

Wait, Balz, let me get this straight. Saying that a presidential candidate has deceived people about his work with "terrorists" and claiming that the candidate doesn't see America the way that "we" do is the EXACT SAME kind of attack as pointing out that it's erratic to change an economic plan overnight?

Are you serious?

I know the right wing nut jobs complain that there's no balance, but you don't create balance by creating false equivalences.

When Obama starts claiming that McCain hangs out with terrorists and doesn't see America right, then this column makes sense. Until then, you are making the same pathetic attempt at "balance" that dominates CNN, et al.

John McCain has been acting erratically ever since he selected Palin for his running mate. When the economy failed his behavior became bizarre. Stresses in the next few years are going to be extreme on the president. They will be fatal on someone in McCain's health and mental state. We will inherit his Palin fiasco if he is elected.
We need a cool-headed and logical leader who can handle the crisis.

Kipling said it best:

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!

Mr. Balz,
I think that you journalists need to learn to differentiate negative advertising and smears. A negative ad is when you point out a position that your opponent upholds that you believe is wrong. The premise of a negative ad is still a truth. It just isn't the kind of truth that the opponent wants out in public. This has been the better part of all negative ads produced by the Obama campaign.
Contrast that to the McCain campaign's negative ads and they are built on lies and innuendo. They do not present any truth on his real policy. They snip a few words and then build those words into something that was never said. There is a stark difference in these two campaigns negative ads.
Also, when one campaign whips a crowd into a frenzy to the point that they are yelling "Kill him"..... That campaign has stepped beyond the pale and is appealing to the basest among us. I only thank God that the GOP is now showing its true nature and that all the world is looking on with horror as they scream for blood and call the rest of the American people who don't believe in hate and divisiveness Terrorists, Traitors and non Patriots.... It is exactly that narrow and closed mindset that has kept us in the dark ages....
Well, I got news for you... America has woken up and we are not going back... NOT TODAY, NOT TOMORROW, NOT EVER!!!!!!!!!!!

If you want to know what is going to happen to european-americans after The New Messiah is elected, just look at what his cousins in Africa have done to european farmers and ranchers there. The people who turned much of Africa from a stone-age cesspool to a semi-modern self-supporting agricultural producer have been unceremoniously thrown off land they purchased and paid for, if not murdered outright by blacks thugs working for their version of Obama. Obama is all about "economic justice" which means stealing the property of hardworking european-americans and throwing it away to be wasted by lazy good-for-nothing parasites. Obama's anti-european racism isn't even questioned by the marxist propaganda squads. Get ready for race wars on a giant scale - but remember, Obama will be the Commander in Chief and he will have the US military at his disposal.

Our government is illegitimate and this fact is not going to change regardless of which one of these traitors manages to steal enough votes, although I think the Obama thugs are way ahead of McAmnesty on that score. The stupid Republicans have nothing like ACORN going for them. As Obama is stealing the election, our government is seizing large chunks of the American economy. I am resolved to do any lawful thing I can to bring this government down, to bring the political class to justice, and after a few hundred thousand executions for treason, to restore the Constitution. I don't listen to anything the candidates say, they are politician/liars, so have at it. They're both professional politicians. Neither has ever worked an honest day in their lives except McCain when he was in the military, but that was long ago. None of them has run a business like Romney, but we can;t have him, we're anti-Mormon bigots. This POS country deserves what it's getting and worse. BOYCOTT this farce - don't vote. Your vote has already been stolen by ACORN. Join the American Nationalist party and get rid of the lying thieving traitors from the Demmican/Republicrat party. Whichever of these two scumbags gets "elected", I will do whatever I can to gum things up and stop the machine before the steal any more from us and wreck our futures any worse than they already have.

With the exception of Mr. Balz, I can't say that the Post (e.g., Krauthammer, Dionne, Mallaby, Gerson, or any other print or electronic media, for that matter) has done much to keep the debate out of the gutter.

I do however appreciate Balz's wish to throw the first stone at WaPo's glass house.

As so many people have pointed out, this piece is ridiculous. I'm saddened that this propaganda wasn't corrected by the editors before it was printed. If the "journalist" who wrote this had any sense of decency, he's be ashamed of himself.

I'm sure Balz feels just fine. As an aside, they're paying the trolls on here way too much.

I am so disappointed in John McCain. What happened to straight talk? What happened to the Maverick? He hired all the Bush campaign people to smear Obama as a terrorist, or a muslim, or some kind of anti-christ. Obama doesn't have all the answers, but at least he is talking about the economy, health care, education and the war in Iraq. I don't agree with all of his views, but I think Obama is a respectable man. I liked John McCain back in 2000, but now there is no way he would ever get my vote.

Shame on you, Mr Balz, for your dishonest, lame lies, veiled under "balance." Shame on you. I will tune you out on TV and will never read anything you write, and will tell others the same. I hope you are fired, and become a beggar for abusing this sacred trust of journalism. I hope you spend your old age years being tortured by the memory of who you could have been, and who you became by forgetting that balance is not the same thing as truth. Shame on you. I hope you never sleep well. I hope you see how ugly a soul you have in the mirror.http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/10/09/balz/index.html

Obama's campaign is endorsing "rampant voter fraud"? To call that an unsubstantiated exaggeration would be merciful. The real "rampant voter fraud" is the way some states, particularly some of the most hotly contested states have been validating their respective eligible voter lists. The few minor registration fraud cases involve no where near the percentage of voters these fumbled validations do. And need I remind you these isolated cases have been happening for many years involving both parties.

Watch how nasty McCain gets in the next few weeks. He can't accept the fact that his glorious destiny as a war president is in jeopardy. His wife is probably screaming at him "do something!" He Will pull the race card, and he will attack Obama's wife. Count on it. He has nothing left but to make race an issue.
See ya in the funny papers John.

The reason people believe Obama is sinister is because he is. His campaign is endorsing rampant voter fraud. He has no discernible postive aspects to his character other than he "speaks well." His character deserves to be dissected in detail by all the media organizations.

For god's sake grow a pair. Objectivity in journalism does not mean you must write like you've been neutered.

Glenn Greenwald is right (and writes better, too!) It is false to equate McCain's hinting around that there "might" be something sinister about Obama when he has no supporting facts with Obama's pointing out that McCain is being "erratic" when he lurches from one extreme credit crisis proposal to another to another to another, sometimes reversing himself within 12 hours.

The one thing that is lost in almost all discussions is the fact that WE are ALL AMERICANS. It doesn't matter what party affiliation, what gender, what race even what sexual orientation.
This is the process that we choose our leader. It is imperfect but it is still the best way. In the end the one with the most votes (electoral) wins. In the end with it's room (lots of room as a matter of fact) to improve and it's imperfections it IS still one of the greatest nations on earth, best places live with the most opportunity. Whoever wins we as a nation will need to all work with it as rational civilized human beings. With so much diversity, which is a great thing, there will never be total agreement in all things. With the challenges that face us as a nation we need less divisiveness, less anger and more level headed thinking. We need to learn how to agree to disagree to go forward for the common good. We must always remember the freedom to have opinions is a right but in adversity some of that may need to be put aside for the common good.
Both men, both candidates are leaders but with different points of view. Whoever wins will be challenged to fix what ails us as a nation and deal with the global challenges as well. It cannot and most hopefully will not continue to be as it has been the last 8 years! We as a nation unfortunately gave Bush too much time to screw it up!!!

NONSENSE! The Ohioan Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner stated today that out of 8+ million registered voters that they have found, documented, prosecuted and convicted ONLY 4 voter fraud convictions.
FOUR! That's .0000005 Percent .The whole voter fraud business is bogus. It's an attempt to intimidate the poor, those who have no IDs because they don't drive and don't need IDs; or those in foreclosures. Stop the fear tactics and make voting easier for citizens.

You people are so pathetic, I just made another donation to the Obama campaign in celebration of your patheticness. Yes YOU, you with the McCain sign in your yard. YOU ARE PATHETIC. Go to the nearest mirror. What you see is what pathetic looks like. If you don't agree, then you are pathetic AND stupid.

Our country is at war (which, by the way, we didn't need to be), our economy is a wreck (which, by the way, is your fault too), and we face a terrorist threat (which, by the way, the policies of your party have made worse). You Neo-cons, supply siders, and theological misfits put the country into the intensive care ward. And then, to put the cherry on top of your mountain of stupid, you nominate John McCain. Republicans, this is what happens when you spend to much time listening to the lunacy of Pat Robertson and falling asleep in science class.

John McCain did everything he could to get George Bush, the architect of American misery, re-elected. John McCain can't even take his daily vitamin supplement without checking to see if it was approved by George Bush's ministry for untruths (aka Fox News). Don't you realize that "lost on stage" Johnny is not just George Bush's third term but is literally George Bush's third testicle? Do you smoke 52 flavors of crack?

The country is facing big problems and John McCain is too cowardly to debate issues. Osama bin Laden is on the loose and John McCain is too cowardly to attack the cave where he is. John McCain is too stupid to analyze the problems we face, too small to meet the challenges we face, and too confused to realize that the ignorant, bigot rabble that have begun appearing at his rallies aren’t going to save his tired, wrinkled ass.

Republicans, good grief, even you don't like him and it's easy to see why. Just like you and your party, the man's a coward without any moral or intellectual compass. John McCain cheated on his wife, that means you nominated an adulterous liar for the highest office in the land. John McCain flip-flopped on torture, that means you nominated someone who would rather take bamboo up his backside than stand up to George Bush. John McCain doesn't want to talk to Spain (?? What in the hell ??), that means you nominated someone who would rather piss off every ally we have than tell the cowards in Iran what he thinks of them to their face. John McCain sat on the board of the World Anti-Communist League, that means you nominated someone who would sell-out Isreal for a piece of political candy. You beat your chest on national security, and then you nominate some clown who can't understand that occupying one country and employing diplomacy with no countries will have no effect on a terrorist organization with operations in eighty countries.

I’d love to be campaigning against a maverick, but all I see is a gerbil named Sidney who cant even come out from under his drug addicted, trophy wife’s skirt to speak his lies in the light of day. Tell your coward Sidney to quit staring at Bozo the Palin’s chest and campaign on the issues. Tell your coward Sidney to quit hiding in the cornfields of Iowa and tell the truth for a change. Tell your coward Sidney to quit babbling about earmarks and try rewriting his economic plan for the fiftieth time (and no he can't cheat off Warren Buffet's notes). Tell your coward Sidney to quit hiding the idiot incest spawn of a religious fundamentalist and an illiterate 3rd grade dropout on Fox News and let Keith Olberman interview her so I can at least get some entertainment out of his crappy campaign. Tell your coward Sidney to quit running in place on his rhetorical gerbil wheel and get me my morning paper so I can slap him in the face with it.

John McCain has stuffed himself so far into the anus of dirty politics that it would take an army of proctologists to fish him out. John McCain nominated a running mate who is too stupid to realize what she has been reading (if Bozo the Palin can in fact read).

You moron Republicans are dwelling in the Outer Limits if you think a worthless, stray kitten like John McCain is worthy of the Presidency. Well what’s wrong is the chain of fools in your coalition. Make an attempt to adjust your thought process to the tweny-first century. We are controlling this election. If we wish to be louder, we will shower Barack Obama with small donations in order to turn up the volume. If we wish to be softer, we will use the internet to make your racist whisper campaigns look as inept as George Bush's administration. We control the vertical. We control the horizontal. We can send YouTube clips out every day showing John McCain babbling about "bottled water for dehydrated babies", getting lost on stage after his own speech, claiming he wants to "veto beer", singing "Bomb, bomb Iran", or blinking like some epileptic has a vendetta against a light switch. We can shove the image of Barack Obama down your throats until you deservedly choke on it. We can change the focus to the soft blur of John McCain long list of flip-flops or sharpen it to examine John McCain's association with a pack of anti-semites and racists. So shut the hell up and get started on your list of cry-baby reasons as to why you are going to lose this election and when Barack Obama's organizers come down your street to help your neighbor understand what jackasses you are, BE POLITE. Understand that the problem this country has is YOU Republicans. But rest assured, you are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and majesty of an Obama administration.

Help Sidney get off the stage without stumbling and send him home to his mommy; the ring in her toilet bowl needs a good tongue cleaning.

I get really annoyed every time I read an article like this, and hear reports of how Both candidates are getting negative, throwing low blows.
The real truth is, Obama never wanted to go negative, fought his own advisers on going there, and still doesnt like the lower side of these exchanges.After the GOP convention, and everything coming out of Pukins mouth and Johnny boy standing behind her nodding Yes to every lie that came out of her mouth, they had no choice, unless they wanted to go down the road of Kerry in the previous election.
Now, if you listen to some reports, they claim Obama has outdone McCain on negativity, but there numbers are misleading.Obama has twice the money available for ads, and for a time, was making 2 to 1 apperances at rallys, so his amount of negativity looked larger for the sheer fact of being out there more, and having 2 to 3 times the ads running to rebut McCains attacks.
And after all the numbers and swift talking MSM retortes have faded, Ill remember McCain, as he bounded about last year saying "he wont campaign like his predecessors have, he wont go down the low road even if it means loosing and election".Well, he should have remembered that little diddy he put out last year,and the last election cycle.and in 2000.He would have been remembered as a great allmost.Now, he'll be remembered as "just a typical politician"

McCain/Palin are lately all about exploiting and inflaming the latent low information tribalism that lies just below the surface in our divided polity that has been such a successful tactic (or is it a strategy?) for the Republicans .

My Q: What’s worse than the typical garden variety McCain lie?

My A: A lie that incites crowds to hatred and violence and the WashPo “journalists” such as Dan Balz who enable this dangerous behavior by equating it with honest retaliations and refusal to take the lies passively by the Obama/Biden campaign.

Call McCain/Palin out for inciting to riot or mayhem. Sleaze is not an acceptable campaign device. Do not, under a misguided notion of 'balance', equate the McCain/Palin smears with the Obama/Biden responses of fact (i.e., the Keating Five scandal).

It appears that the brown shirts are being encouraged, thanks to the “hero” and his deputy. When one of their wingnuts gets overly excited and actually acts on McCain/Palin’s lies, my bet is that they won’t take any responsibility for that either.

I know it's a legitimate question if Obama can attract enough white votes across the country to win. I understand why it's asked and why it's a concern of the Obama campaign whether they address it directly or not.

But for the life of me and it's rapidly becoming an increasing point of frustration for me, I don't understand why no one in the media raises the very obvious point that when you look at a typical McCain/Palin rally, no matter what part of the country they're in, it looks like they're running for the presidency of "white America" and not the entire, multi-racially and culturally diverse nation that we are in the year 2008. I mean, change the fashions and hair styles and a McCain/Palin rally looks like an episode of "Happy Days"! And it's not just an "Obama thing"; Hillary Clinton's supporters were a diverse group too.

Why doesn't anyone in the media ever ask Senator McCain, "Does it bother you at all that at a time when our nation has never been more culturally and ethnically diverse, that you and Governor Palin are only seen speaking before virtually all-white audiences?" I don't know about you but I'd sure love to hear what his response would be.

How do you know who Obama's friends are? Where do you get your information??? Why do you believe baseless allegations, yet refuse to hear it from the candidate's mouth.

Obama has already explained the Ayers situation--- Ayers may have engaged in stupid activities in the 60s but Obama was only 8 years old. When he met Ayers 20 years later, Ayers was a respected university professor and their "relationship" was that they served on the same board.

I believe that any explanation will not satisfy you as you appear to be a bigot racist who is grasping at straws at the thought of your McBush failing to get elected.

Glenn Greenwald breaks this article down nicely on his blog when he says "the modern journalist’s conception of “balance” leads them to distort the truth. Balz’s article is about the increasing use of “character attacks” in the presidential race, and rather than state the truth — that the McCain/Palin ticket is now relying almost exclusively on some of the ugliest and most outright dangerous character smears seen in a modern presidential election — Balz instead pretends that this is a phenomenon of which both sides are guilty in equal measure." Excellent!

You cannot compare the character assinations the McCain cmapaign is waging against Obama to Obama campaign predominatly attacking on th eissues.
I think the media must do something to ensure cooler heads prevail..The McCain camp is not getting less personally aggressive against Obama,its getting even worse. There rallies are turning into a angry mob mentality. Times, Joe Klein, hit the nail on the head in his Swampland column today where he says the Rebulcian crazinees is getting out of hand & its becoming a national disgrace. Worse then that , many of us fear that mob mentality can create danger to Obama's well being...these people are way over the line here.
Please help put a stop to this Republican madness....

For the Obama supporters claiming that questions about past associations are not fair:
If Bush/McCain is fair and McCain/Keating is fair then ...
- Why not Obama/Ayers? Obama/Frank Davis? Obama/Louis Farrakhan?
Obama/Flagher? Obama/Chavez? Obama/Wright? Obama/ACORN?
We know he taught a course based on Saul Alinsky's book Rules for Radicals and Community Organizing.

What do you really know about Obama other than what he himself says about himself?
In the MSM we can find mostly laudatory information.
Only recently did the MSM "paper of record" the NY Times print an article on the Obama/Ayers association,
but basically only regurgitated Obama campaign talking points.

Can you site MSM investigative reports about Obama akin to the investigative reports about McCain? Palin?

So the MSM has really abdicated responsibility. The irrational hatred for Bush leaves most MSM members so
desperate for "something else". Change, that isn't change, words without plans.

Ostensibly they are responsible for revealing the presidential candidates, wrinkles, flaws and all. The alternative media
covers these things, and maybe they get it wrong. How would we know?
We need truly investigative fact checkers.

Side note: "fact-checking" by claiming something is "true" or "false" because it's "inaccurate" is bogus.
Something can be "accurate" but not "true" as well as "inaccurate" but true.
Simple Case: Palin: " I sold[sic] [auctioned] that plane on e-bay." Is inaccurate, but "true".
Intellectually honest people do understand the distinction.

David Freddoso's book "The Case Against Barack Obama" documents some of Obama's connections. He's done a great deal of ground work.
Is it accurate and true? Why won't the MSM vet it or debunk it with the same level of documentation provided in the book?

The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia was wrought out of a similar kind of thinking.
Lenin was sponsored by Kaiser Wilhelm to foment rebellion as an aid for his attacks of WWI.

Obama's funding for college is opaque. Why should right wing fanatics be the only ones looking into this?
It is fair to wonder, in light of the history of Lenin whether Obama has been funded by "outside agitators".
Especially when one looks at the main course of studies Obama documents about himself.

An excerpt From prologue: Rules for Radicals by Alinsky he outlines a strategy for taking over from within the system.
It sounds similar to the proletariat uprising jargon used by Marx and Ingles.

"There's another reason for working inside the system. Dostoevsky said that taking a new step is
what people fear most. Any revolutionary change must be preceded by a passive, affirmative,
non-challenging attitude toward change among the mass of our people. They must feel so frustrated, so defeated, so lost,
so futureless in the prevailing system that they are willing to let go of the past and change the future.
This acceptance is the reformation essential to any revolution."

Obama can't prove he citizen and is therefore unacceptable. So far Mr. Obama has refused to produce the documents in the Berg vs Obama case and is trying to fight the court order to produce the documents.
Any American should be able to prove citizenship in less than a day. Why can’t Mr. Obama?

A constitutional crisis will rip our country apart. If this is not cleared up now we will have a crisis. If you care at all about America you must call for Mr. Obama to produce the documents and prove that he is eligible to be President.

Please Rally Congress to have Mr. Obama produce the documents to prove his constitutional qualifications.

If you were going down under water for the third time would you refuse the help of a man you knew could save you(Obama) because he spoke to somebody you didn't like or would you say no, give me the guy that is white like me even though he doesn't know how to swim(McCain).

Dear Republicans,
Guess what? You lose. Led by your man "W", you were handed over the country for 8 years. In the last eight years you have brought senselessness to government while just about destroying our economy in the process. Now you must step aside. Do us a favor, as you've already done enough, and realize that there's nothing in your hand and it's best you fold now.

MarkAustin needs a hobby. Aside from that, Dan, you really missed the mark on this one. Even thoughtful conservatives wonder how McCain got to this point. I also think he wonders that himself. Did you see him turn away from a ranting supporter today? Now there's a column for you.

McCain is yellow bellied coward. He can't even summon up the courage to say anything to Obama to his face about William Ayers or anything else. He gets Cindy to do his dirty work for him, or else he gets Moose Breath to do it.What a chicken! I'll hid behind the women's skirts.

Pointing out that McCain voted with Bush 90% of the time is not guilt by association, it is pointing out his record.

The Annenberg Challenge is a non-profit effort on education. Ayers and Obama both served on the board of that organization. Not to dismiss what Ayers did when he was 18 and Obama was 8, but he is now a professor, which is why he was on that board.

There is no evidence that Obama shares any of Ayers'(current or former) views about anything but advocating education.

Dan Balz suggests that the Obama and McCain campaigns are equivalent in the content of their criticisms. That doesn't square with reality. McCain is openly angry, Obama is not. McCain speaks in innuendos, if not downright slanders, while Obama is clear and his criticisms can be checked for accuracy.

The McCain/Palin attacks are disgusting. There is no way they can unite the country. What kind of country have we become when we allow contenders for our highest political office to incite such hatred toward their opposition? What kind of human being is Sarah Palin if she can hear her crowd yell "Kill him" and not immediately reprimand her audience for such violent language? What kind of leaders will they be if they are so willing to take the low road to meet their objectives? Who is this John McCain anyway. He is not the John McCain that I supported in 2000. He is not the John McCain that promised to keep this campaign positive and focused on the issues. He is not the John McCain that bucked the religious right to do the right thing for a nation of multiple faiths and perspectives. He is not the John McCain who knew how to build bridges in order to get things done. He is not the John McCain who puts country first because he picked a Vice Presidential candidate that has no qualifications for being President should he be unable to fulfill his duties. These are not my kind of people. They aren’t my leaders and will never be my President and Vice President even if they are elected.

I am with catsmom on this how can you say that the Obama campaign is being on the same level of negativity as McCain. What would you like him to do let Palin go out as she had done all weekend bringing up Ayers trying to link him to terroism work up their crowds to where they shout "kill him" "terrorist" "traitor" and not respond at all. He is defending himself like Kerry wouldn't and his mannerism of McCain's erratic behavior is just that erratic behavior that even the pundits agree on he isn't making McCain out to be anyone he isn't shown to be so let's have fair reporting here don't call the kettle black when it isn't. Tying him to Bush is correct trying to tying him to terroists isn't and it is down right dangerous for Obama to have McCain and Palin keep this terroist rhetoric up someone might try to harm Obama and than it won't be cute or funny anymore.

An impartial group from Wisconsin points out that during the past week McCain's political ads are almost 100% negative while Obama's ads are mostly positive. It seems McCain and Palin have the problem with honesty and truth.

One campaign is waging false, incendiary attacks against the other, and the other is trying to defend itself and set the record straight. Yet you write about it as if both are engaging in the same behavior. Are you not paying attention to what is being said? McPalin's rallies are frightening.

logcabin1836, how can the average American -- scared about losing their home, their job, their healthcare, and their retirement money -- trust the candidate with a real (not "bogus") association with several 1960's radicals, William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, just to name a few?

I would argue that the Obama is MORE at fault, ever since they went after Bill Clinton (carried through to McCain) for being an alleged "racist". As I've pointed out, several times, the first "guilt by association" raised during the general election was by Obama in tying McCain to Bush. That was their whole election strategy before his European Vacation.

McCain has no choice than go extreme negative and personal. Since most of his campaign advisors, including Phil Gramm are the very one's responsible for deregulating the banking industry McCain desperately needs a diversion from fact.
But bringing up some bogus association with a 1960's radical just won't work, not when the average American is scared about losing their home, their job, the healthcare, and losing their retirement money. And if you don't believe me, just look at the polls, the American People are agreeing with my assessment.

This is the kind of false equivalency that has made the mainstream media a joke in this country.

To declare that McCain and Obama are equally at fault for the tenor of the campaign without regard for the difference in degree in vitriol and maliciousness between the two campaigns, as well as attributing the main responsibility to the party that openly declared they were going to make this election about personalities and NOT issues, is grossly irresponsible.

This typifies the complete bankruptcy of professional ethics in your reporting. I'm glad I don't subscribe to your nonsense of a newspaper.

The obvious truth in this article is shown by the comments. Unfortunately both democrats and republicans have forgotten how to disagree without being disagreeable. Both campaigns have been egged on by their partisans to take off the gloves and smash their enemies. Its really getting old and its going to make governing infinitely more difficult.

This crap has been going on since the 92 election and is really getting old. The challenge for the country going forward will be to pull together and face the challenges we face as a nation. The way this campaign is going it will be a 60:40 electorate

Several of the five aircraft that spiraled out of Mr. McCain's control in the past were characterized as "flame outs". His current campaign seems to be following suit. As his numbers nose dive toward a crash and burn scenario he seems determined to plumb the depths of deceit and dishonor with an utter disregard for his legacy and place in history. Our certified war hero, happy warrior, "Mr. reach-across-the-aisle" darling of Democrat and Republican alike has vanished from view, and sadly will soon be lost to our memories as well. The tragedy unfolding before us is ugly and dismaying in the extreme. To wit: an irascible, mean-spirited, stumbling old goat wallowing in a cesspool of calumny, dishonor and shameless lies. When my trusted and beloved old hound stumbled onto a skunk when out on the trail, repeated bathing in tomato juice diminished the ordure and allowed him to be welcomed back into hearth and home. Sadly, it seems that so much stink will cling to the empty shell of a once great American when this is all over that no such happy rehabilitation will await him. While I cringe in the face of his despicable tactics my heart and prayers remain with him.

I am a former republican who now is an Independent who will vote democratic. The republican base is no longer here. Only rhetoric and hate, and an old man (McCain) who just about an inch to the right of Obama.

NotSure, I am watching the campaign where Obama is personally dismissive of McCain as someone who would not be trustworthy in the Oval Office during a crisis; you knowm the campaign where he said: "I don't think we can afford that kind of erratic and uncertain leadership in these uncertain times," he said, adding, "We need a president we can trust in times of crisis."

Before that, Obama has said that McCain has "lost his bearings." Which campaign are you watching?

Mr. Balz_
I'm sorry, but you can't simple compare the two types of attacks in an "even-handed" way.

McCain-Palin are appealing to worst demons in our history and nature. Have you not seen the videos of people at McCain-Palin rallies? Questioning Barack Obama's "bloodlines." Calling him a "terrorist." Yelling "kill him."

I don't see any kind of similar mob mentality at the Obama Biden events.

Please, sir, have the sense and decency not to equate attacks that invite racism and xenophobia with those that simply question the temperament of a candidate. You should be better than that.

Are you watching the same campaign I am? All I see is tired, baseless, desperate character attacks coming from the McCain camp, and a great deal of restraint from Obama's. As several other people have commented, Obama could be easily questioning Palin's loyalty to the United States as a result of the encouraging speeches she's made to the AIP ("Keep up the good work!"). As far as I'm concerned, hobnobbing with an organization (and sleeping with a member of one, until it became a political liability for him and he resigned) that espouses violence toward government agents and secession from the country should AUTOMATICALLY bar one from a national office. WHY the media keeps covering her hateful speeches, which are coming ever closer to inciting violence, but rarely covers Biden's rally speeches, or expose her for her traitorous associations, is beyond me.

sellio4291, Balz gave a couple examples from each side. Are you seriously saying the only "responsible" story would be 100,000 word dissertation detailing every alleged "smear"? That seems a bit much to make the simple point that one of these men will be a less-effective President in January because of each side's campaign.

Dan (may I call you Dan?): Without putting too fine a point on it, I must ask you: are you high?? It has been a mud sling fest by the McCain/Palin campaign since the moment Sarah Palin gave her speech at the Republican National Convention. I am stunned that you equate the sliming that McCain and Palin have dished out to the dose of their own medicine that's been tossed back by Obama and Biden. However, to say that both sides have been engaging in character attacks without mentioning the depth and extent of the McCain/Palin campaign's roll in the mud is simply irresponsible journalism. I would simply like to quote Alaskan Representative Les Gara:

{b}"All we can hope for is that members of the press will remember what they learned in journalism school. Not to repeat the spin of political operatives without reporting the truth...[and]...[n]ot to write 'he said she said' stories, and pretend the truth is somewhere in the middle."{/b}

MarkinAustin- God you're a sicko...I'm not even gonna dignify your comments with responses anymore. Like I said before, god forbid you are every anything but priviledged or that you ever need advocacy or someone to help you stand up for what you deserve. I truly hope that if you find yourself in one of those situations that you are alone and without help.

Luckily, there are real journalists out there reporting on what is really happening. I'm sure you got a good "attaboy" from McCain supporter Fred Hiatt, your boss. I shall avoid reading anything with your byline in future.

Dan Balz, it's so transparent that you're in the tank for McCain. You write about Obama that: "there is little else he seems to find admirable in a politician who has, over the years, bucked his party leadership on numerous occasions and worked productively with Democrats on the left and in the center."

I know it's hard to believe, but not everyone is as in love with McCain as you are, or buys this notion that he's a "maverick."

Why are your tripping over yourself to be "balanced"?!? Have you heard the slime that the McCain/Palin and the Repubs have started saying lately? How does their trash even come close to what Obama's been questioning about, as you put it, McCain's ability to lead. How can you equate the two as equal attacks???!!!! McCain/Palin are reaching a dangerously new low in politics where they are baiting their supporters to use untrue and inflammatory words. You know what they've been saying. I just hope this doesn't get out of hand. Stop being the complicit Washington insider reporter! Pull your head out of the sand and report what's really taking place, on the ground. McCain/Palin are using dangerous, racist, inflammatory language as their last resort line of attack.

It is sad that Sen McCain has to try to win at all costs. It seems to me that Sen McCain has sold out to the reactionaries of his party. Sen McCain, it's not too late to give us your vision of America's future.

MarkinAustin - Of course I'm aware of that, and although that is terrible that a few bad apples brought this on...let's think about the people that are brining about these allegations and let's think about the their criminal activities in the organizations that they represent. I don't think you or anyone else would care to see a comparison. ACORN is a large organization and it's impossible to think that there aren't any or wouldn't be any employees that aren't perfect. Afterall, ACORN employees are human beings. My god, you folks are sick! God forbid you are ever anything but priviledged and happen to be in a situation where you need advocacy.

johnsonc2, he didn't "equate the two campaigns" apart from the FACT they are both doing it (see actual quotes from Obama above). No one is saying that what Obama is doing is the same, exact quantity (or quality) that McCain is doing.

From listening to McCain and Palins attacks on Obama, it is more and more obvious that McCain is equipped with very bad judgement, an old fashion view of the world we live in and a running mate that is embarrassingly incompetent. Take the old, bitter and angry man off the stage and send the confused Palin back to Alaska!

Mr. Balz is comparing apples to oranges in an effort to be balanced. The McCain/Palin rallies are inflammatory. They throw red meat at the base and incite cries or Socialist, terrorist, treason, and even kill him. The McCain strategy of paining Obama as a scary other feeds this frenzy. On the other hand Obama describes McCain's behavior as "erratic". What would you describe a man who has changes his positions half a dozen times in the last month regarding the economic crisis? It is not what I would call steady. However, Mr. Obama does not seem to be portraying McCain as subhuman. You don't see folks at Obama rallies calling for McCain death or calling him a terrorist. The attacks are not even close to being equivalent. But of course our liberal media can't call things the way they are. McCain has decided the only way to win is to dehumanize Obama. It plays right into the characterizations of Obama and indeed all democrats coming from hate radio (Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, Ingram etc.)every day. Republicans on the national ticket will never get my vote until they stop the dehumanization of folk like me. I am not a terrorist, a socialist, a person devoid of "family values", anti American, Unpatriotic. This rhetoric is unacceptable. It will lead to lynch mobs. It is crying fire in a crowded theater. It is despicable.

In some locations, ACORN employees have submitted false voter registration forms rather than obtaining registrations from actual eligible voters. There have been actual convictions, whether you want to believe it or not:

In Ohio in 2004, four ACORN employees were indicted by a federal grand jury for submitting false voter registration forms.

In January 2005 two Colorado ACORN workers were sentenced to community service for submitting false voter registrations.

On November 1, 2006, four part-time ACORN employees were indicted in Kansas City, Missouri for voter registration fraud. Prosecutors said the indictments are part of a national investigation.

ACORN was investigated in 2006 for submitting false voter registrations in St. Louis, Missouri. At least 1,492 fraudulent voter registrations were identified.

In 2007, five Washington state ACORN workers were sentenced to jail time.

In 2008, the Michigan Secretary of State office told the Detroit Free Press that ACORN had been submitting a sizeable number of duplicate and fraudulent applications to vote.

State authorities in Nevada raided ACORN's offices in Las Vegas on October 7, 2008, alleging that its canvassers produced forms with false names, fictional addresses, or famous personalities.

Dan,
You equate the two campaigns. McCain has taken the campaign into the mud since last summer with his Paris Hilton/Britney Spears ads and hasn't stopped since. Obama was slow to respond because he was hoping to run a campaign about issues and the future. He is now hitting back because American politics requires that he do so. The voters won't support someone who doesn't fight back - just ask Michael Dukakis and John Kerry.

Your attempts at non-partisanship are misplaced. You are a REPORTER and I would hope you would REPORT the news and stop pulling your punches. Think about it. Have you ever seen a more despicable campaign than the one being run by John McCain and Sarah Palin?

McCain's moral cowardice has been one of the subtexts of this campaign ever since he wound up the nomination and turned his attention to Barack Obama. But I did not realize it would reveal itself in such a physical dimension and that McCain would be so desperate as to act like it really means anything (it doesn't and McCain knows it).

The tell came this week as McCain unearthed the Ayers story which, for whatever its merits, was fully aired months ago and has no clear relation to the particulars of October other than McCain's collapsing poll numbers. He's on it. Palin's on it. He's releasing slashing new TV ads like this one. Both of them are ginning their crowds up into spiraling gyres of right-wing delirium -- a ready-made Lord of the Flies (and let's admit that's a gentle allusion, given the tone of these barnburners) if Obama happened into one of the auditoriums at the wrong moment.

McCain even swaggered on for a couple days about how he was going to 'take the gloves off' when he met up with Obama in Nashville. But when the two of them were there in each others physical presence ... nothing. By a myriad of gestures and reactions Obama owned him.

Nor is it a matter of shifting off the tactics, because as soon as McCain made his hasty retreat from the stage at Debate #2 he was right back at it. In every other aspect of life, high and low, refined and unlovely, we have a word for that kind of behavior: cowardice.

And now Obama can taunt McCain with that very cowardice, his inability to just say it to his face. And if my take on the inner workings of McCain's mind at the moment is right that should simply unhinge him even more.

You know, I live in the DC area, but I only read the Post for the weather and the local news and sports. Its op-ed page is a joke, scanning the political spectrum from George Will to David Broder, with only E.J. Dionne having a perspective that has some semblance of thought outside of conservative orthodoxy or Washington Establishment rigidity. As for reporting, it has taken its view of itself as “independent” and turned into slightly more moderate version of Fox News’ “Fair and Balanced” version of journalism. As Greenwald points out, this article is a case in point. http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/10/09/balz/
Try looking on the web at videos like this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itEucdhf4Us and you will see the anger and bigotry that the McCain/Palin campaign is trying to arouse and harness. It is a mob mentality, stoked by insinuations that Obama is an alien, un-American, terrorist-supporting, subversive threat. There is nothing even remotely as sinister coming out of the Obama campaign. If the current editors of the Post had been covering Weimar Germany in 1933, it would be searching the public record to see if the Social Democrats had made any character attacks on Adolf Hitler. (uh-oh, Godwin’s law, but the comparison does seem apt in these circumstances)

I was a community organizer for ACORN, and it is absolutely hilarious and disgusting to me that anyone in their right mind would try to paint them in some kind of sinister light, or make it seem like they had anything to do with all that is wrong with this country. ACORN was actually a force against predatory lending, and we also helped a lot of otherwise helpless people stand up for their neighborhoods and get the city services that they deserved. The city services that were prevalent in white upscale neighborhoods but neglected in poor minority neighborhoods. We were a voice for better schools, all around city services, more police prescence, and people just generally taking back their neighborhoods from thugs, both gangbangers and even more ruthless white collar thugs. The people that ACORN helps are homeowners and taxpayers just like anybody, but unfortunatley, they have been treated badly and taken advantage of because their socioeconomic status or race. Do these people not deserve the same rights as anyone else? ACORN has helped many many good people that had no where else to turn. The people that are currently using the name of this generous and necessary organization as a tool of hate, or saying that ACORN somehow has anything to do with anything that's wrong with this country are absolutely retarded and evil. This is disgusting, and yes, an community organizer for ACORN has 1000 fold more experience dealing with the real people of this country than a cranky old neocon senator of Arizona and, of all things, a governor of Alaska. Shame on you people that are painting ACORN or anybody that helps their community in a bad light. What's wrong with all of you!? This really makes me sick to my stomach.

I was caught up in the 3rd of four rounds of layoffs by Hughes Aircraft Company in 1992. This was six years after Hughes was acquired by General Motors. Prior to the acquisition Hughes was a leader in developing new technology and was instrumental in the space program. After the acquisition, GM decided to purchase technology instead of developing technology. Additionally, Hughes opened a manufacturing plant in Mexico. To get around the import laws at the time, final assembly and testing was done in Mississippi. Shortly thereafter, Hughes was broken up and sold off to other aerospace companies. All of this started during the Reagan administration.

The gist of this story is, our government has allowed our great manufacturing capacity to be shipped overseas to the detriment of our economy and the livelihood of many of our citizens. Many of the high-tech goods are now purchased from Asia, some of which is used in our military gear. That's right, our military is dependent on foreign goods.

My conclusion as related to this year's presidential election is that Sen McCain has not conveyed, for me, his vision for bringing a sustainable future for us. I don't know what jobs he is talking about when he mentions the creation of new jobs.

When Sen Obama talks about investing in America's infrastructure so that we don't offshore our manufacturing, he is essentially investing in our future and that of our descendants as part of an overall strategy to strengthen our economy to keep America the greatest country on Earth. I like the idea of penalizing "American" companies that offshore their labor for higher profits, especially if their lower costs are shared only with high ranking company officers and not with consumers.

A vision such as this is a reminder of another Democratic leader, John F. Kennedy, who challenged the greatness of America to accomplish unreachable goals, not to mention the numerous byproducts of such research and development. That is the hope that Sen Obama is talking about.

yawn - good timing, another record stock market drop and desperate Republics want to talk about a guy who did something 40 years ago, who is not in jail (neither is his wife) and is backed by a large Republican foundation. I guess since Palin is sleeping with a member of an organization that calls for the overthrow of the US government maybe the Democratic Party should ignore the problems of the country too. McCain is a joke as are his "supporters."

Like most journalists, Balz believes that we, the public, are total morons. On the one hand, you have McCain-Palin, saying that Obama is a terrorist. On the other hand, you have Obama-Biden, saying that McCain's plans are bad and will not work. So, to Balz and the other BLITHERING MORONS in the press, the two are the same.

The two are not the same. The Republican attacks are scummy, and the Democrats are honorable.

This is a fact.

The two are not the same. The Republican attacks are scummy, and the Democrats are honorable.

This is a fact.

The two are not the same. The Republican attacks are scummy, and the Democrats are honorable.

Actually, this Ayers stuff is dangerous and the McCain campaign is fully aware of it. Tonight, spend a few minutes on the internet and look at a vidio of a Palin rally where she throws this stuff at the mob. You will hear calls - "kill him", "shoot the n*gger", etc. What is going on is an appeal to the unstable to quite literally assassinate Mr. Obama. Oh, thye may believe that the nutjob the gin up will get caught before the deed, with the idea of this, the uncertainty, put Obama on edge, makes him look over his shoulder and wonder of one of the nut cases that the McCain campaign has driven to a frenzy is "out there". I know this. You know this. Even the Republican operatives here know this. But this so far beyond any ast negative campaign, so irreponsible and dangerous, that I think of McCain and Palin as criminals. Literally! Literally race baiters, KKK cheerleaders, Nazi thugs, criminals inciting violence, that we stop. At the end of the day, it's for us to point out their intent and for the media to pick up on it and write about it until people understand the depths to which McCain and Palin and their handlers have sunk.

I do have to agree with what Joe Biden had to say today, if McCain is going to make this accusation, he should say it to Obama face to face. McCain say; "I'm John McCain and I approve this message." as part of every one of these ads run by his campaign. Oh does he now? Where is Mr. Honor? Hiding behind his rabid pit bull in a skirt? Hiding behind Bounds and Schmidt? If he actually believes this, show us all.

I'm sorry McCain, even if you don't have the guts to say it yourself, you are letting your campaign say it. It's time for him to step up to the bar and own up to it or stop the smears.

First of all, bushbudy, neither McCain nor Palin have said that Obama is a terrorist. They have said he "pals around with unrepentant terrorists." If I missed the quote you are referring to, instead, please let me know.

sanjit8, it's a bit more than that single connection between the Obamas and the Ayers. To answer your question, Obama's association is worse. Maybe I would change my mind if Obama truly regretted it and spent his career fighting terrorism.

Like most journalists, Balz believes that we, the public, are total morons. On the one hand, you have McCain-Palin, saying that Obama is a terrorist. On the other hand, you have Obama-Biden, saying that McCain's plans are bad and will not work. So, to Balz and the other BLITHERING MORONS in the press, the two are the same.

The two are not the same. The Republican attacks are scummy, and the Democrats are honorable.

This is a fact.

The two are not the same. The Republican attacks are scummy, and the Democrats are honorable.

This is a fact.

The two are not the same. The Republican attacks are scummy, and the Democrats are honorable.

The facts:
-Obama attended some meetings in which one of the other attendees had committed a crime more than two decades prior.
-McCain took bribes and accepted favors from a man, then failed to speak up in a meeting while a few of his fellow senators attempted to lean on a regulator as favor to this same man. The resulting scandal costed American tax payers upwards of $3 billion.
Which was worse? You be the judge.

Knowing Austin, as I do, it's understandable you are friendless and must resort to posting dicombobulated and misleading nonsense as a pastime. Make an appointment with a shrink for the day after the election.....at least keep the Suicide Hotline number near the phone.

If McCain hadn't completely sold his soul by picking an unqualified vice presidential candidate and then resorting to distortion, slander, and deception to cast doubt on his opponent then perhaps the United States might have had the benefit of a campaign on the issues.
Whatever punches Obama throws at McCain, they are nothing compared to McCains swift-boat, Bush-era personal attacks that he's desperately serving up to try to save his skin.
His tactics are a remnant of the dishonorable and failed policies of the old republican ethos and doesn't have a place in serious politics. Let's hope the republicans can field real candidates in the future who have something substantial to add to the political discourse and to the world.

"You and I together will confront the ten trillion dollar debt that the federal government has run up and balance the federal budget by the end of my term in office," McCain began, making his way to pork barrel spending. "Across this country this is the agenda I have set before my fellow prisoners and the same standards of clarity and candor must now be applied to my opponent."

So cheer up my fellow prisoners, Daddy warbucks can erase a 10 trillion dollar debt in just 48 months!

You're a complete moron. The right-wing kooks are in full song and you want to imagine that Obama is somehow guilty of the same garbage they're throwing?
Forget it.
Hopefully the Obama Administration will use the full resources of Wire Tapping, E-mail reading, holding people without charges, adn waterboarding to get to the bottom of this mess.
Watch your back, "PUNDIT"......LOL

I'm not sure what it would take to convince Palin and McCain that insinuating another candidate for the presidency might somehow be a secret terrorist is a very, very bad idea. America has had plenty of experience with right-wing militia nuts and paranoid loners over the last few decades; it should be transparently obvious that sneeringly inciting crowds to such an extent is a dangerous game for Palin and McCain to be playing. Palin, especially, should be damn well aware of it, given her and her husband's past uncomfortable closeness to militia figures in Alaska.

To put it plainly, inciting right wing crowds to consider an American presidential candidate a "terrorist" isn't merely dirty politics or otherwise unseemly -- it comes uncomfortably close to implicitly encouraging actual violence. And that "uncomfortably close" part is putting the most charitable possible face on it.
.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjxzmaXAg9E
.

I'm sure there's no way we can make them stop, or even tone down their at this point intensely personalized, intensely spiteful rhetoric. They are immune to shame, or even common sense; this is the last desperate hour of the McCain campaign, and Palin was selected specifically because she could make these sorts of sleazy, least-common-denominator appeals to a far-right base that needs it, in order to feel good about voting for McCain.

But I think an adequate karmic retribution for Palin would be, if and when Obama is elected, for her to be made his personal assistant and be ankle-chained to him every time he leaves the White House -- so that whatever happens to Obama during his presidency happens to her as well. Maybe then she'd gain a shred of introspection into how much you should or shouldn't actively incite dumbarse, already paranoid, explicitly racist crowds into thinking that an American president is an enemy of the state.
.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuSYHnVpYbs
.

What are McCain/Palin saying about America to the rest of the world when they use these negative tactics.

In a time of great insecurity, how does the McCain campaign square this negative use of voters' time with voters' needs?

I keep listening intently to hear HOW McCain is going to lead America out of this downfall, and all I hear are attacks on Obama, threats to prosecute those who caused the mortgage crisis (beginning with Phil Gramm, McCain's advisor?), and a health insurance proposal destined to enrich insurance companies that the entire American population DOESN'T TRUST anymore.

So, I go to listen to Obama to see if I can see the evil McCain/Palin are talking about.

All I see is an athletic, bright, seemingly sincere man risking his life for a chance to serve Americans, a health care plan that makes perfect sense, and concrete plans to steer us out of the abyss we find ourselves in.

I couldn't be more confused by the McCain campaign. When are they going to make any sense to voters other than the Christian fundamentalists who seem to loathe anyone who doesn't see the world through their intolerant prism?

Unfortunately I have to agree with you, at least so far. However it doesn't make it any better really to be using these sorts of tactics to win.

With respect to your observation, most people can only relate to what is their personal memory. If they want to learn about real smear campaigns they would study Andrew Jackson among others. They make this election look like a romp in the sand box.

Still, we have supposedly come a long way since those times, but evidently not. There are more important and real issues to discuss. Have people been opening their 401K quarterly reports? The next one should be enough to make you weep if this keeps up.

Mr. Balz,
I don't normally read your column, so I'm not sure which way you generally lean politically. On the surface you seem to be trying to come across as neutral; you mention McCain and Obama an equal number of time. However, drilling down into your use of language, several times you speak negatively about Obama, and you imply that McCain is being truthful about Obama, while Obama is simply fearmongering about McCain. For example you say that Obama can't see the positives about "[a man who] has, over the years, bucked his party leadership on numerous occasions and worked productively with Democrats on the left and in the center." Nowhere in your article are you similarly positive about Obama.

The biggest flaw in your article is your ignorance of the campaign dynamics up until this point. McCain has been openly disrespectful of Obama for quite a while now (most obviously in the first debate). The Ayers attack is, on a very personal level, trying to indict Obama as a supporter of terrorism in the court of public opinion. As Obama said in his convention speech, both candidates are patriots, and McCain's attack is really out of line. It is divisive mudslinging, and it does not reveal any sort of tangible or fundamental truth about Obama.

Obama, on the other hand, has not up until very recently, made any personal attacks about McCain. He has focused on McCain's voting record (90% voting for Bush policies), personal quotes (i.e. that the Iraq War would be over quickly, and that Sunis and Shi'as would get along fine), and stated stances (i.e. that McCain is pro-deregulation). Even when he did start taking personal shots at McCain, they related to the way McCain conducted himself in situations that are relevant to our present situation, and to situations that we can expect our next president to face. The Lincoln Savings and Loan fiasco that McCain was involved in truly does speak to his character; it shows fairly definitively that McCain is willing to abuse his power for the benefit of a contributor. It shows that McCain lacks integrity. And McCain's lack of integrity in that circumstance led to a situation that is a microcosm of the current economic fiasco that we find ourselves in now.

To put it plainly, Obama's attacks on McCain, though they are personal, do speak to how McCain might do his job if he were elected. McCain's attacks do not, and have no relevance to the job Obama will do as president.

The true Obama is revealed. Obama is a Black Panther type radical trying to take over the Federal Government

Posted by: TonyV1"

I think this poster is exactly who the McCain camp is tapping into for votes. I won't go into an entire rebuttal post, as that will be quite lengthy. Instead, I am interested in knowing how, going by the above "reasoning" in judging Obama's CHARACTER and JUDGMENT, how that has had an effect on Obama's positions on the issues in terms of the people? Any idea how that is linked?

Meanwhile, in the documentary KEATING ECONOMICS- where we also get a reminder of Phil Gramm (some fear McCain appointing that man should McCain become the next POTUS), McCain has had relationships with, and politically worked it, but is also proven to have agreed with Keating's and Gramm's principles which resulted in affecting ($$$$$$$$$) our American people if you know what I mean. McCain enjoyed some of that, knowing his involvement was wrong. For some reason he believed our economy was strong. Maybe "this nation has become a bunch of whiners?" Or was that the case only before "the stuff" blatanly hit the fan and McCain had to play hero in his political stunt called the campaign suspension, to show America "how serious" he is? McCain had direct involvement with these figures, AND he's been proven to believe as they do.

Back to the issues, preferrably, Obama is hands down in the corner of the people and he is serious. McCain, I honestly think he just wants to get to the White House to set in place his tax cuts to the wealthy and PERMANENTLY. I think the more it looks like he'll lose, the more desperate his campaign gets toward reaching that goal of his. I think he's on the side of a particular group of people, but definitely not The Backbone of this United States.

Senator Obama learned from the "Swiftboating" from four years ago that you have to fight back. Voters can't be trusted with throwing the liars out.

But Mr. Balz is correct. It is killing America. Does anyone doubt that the currect historic failed presidency didn't have something to do with the way George Bush divided the American people into "us" v "them" during the campaign and after. No one rallies around the flag after you've told him or her that we don't just disagree, but we're good and you're evil.

If Americans allow McCain/Palin to succeed, we resign ourselves to fail.

You are one of my favorite journalists. On this one, though, I think you are making an age-old journalistic error. As in "some scientists say there is global warming, others say there isn.'t." Or, "some scientists say cigarettes cause lung cancer, others disagree." This isn't fair and balanced--and regardless of your intentions, is a disservice. What McCain and Palin are doing is stooping to the level of inciting murderous rage toward Obama. Today, a co-chair called McCain a street guy. Cindy McCain lied about his vote on funding her son's safety--her husband made a similar vote. Ayers? Obama was eight. This is clearly more Carl Rove style "we know the public is afraid of black "that ones." When you are wrong on the issues, attack based on anything that will work. As a former and longtime AP political reporter, I have never been more ashamed of the mainstream media than I am today--but not for the reasons that Sarah Palin espouses. No, I am ashmaed because evertime Sarah Palin spews racial hatred from her silver flute, the mainstream media is dancing to her tune. For shame on us all. The candidates' treatment of one another is not at all "equal." Be a journalist. Point this out.

Obama criticizes McCain's response to the economic crisis over the last two weeks.

McCain says that Obama is friends with a terrorist and hates our country.

SAME THING! BOTH ARE BAD!"

These Klanpaign rallies where McCain and co.--who ordinarily wouldn't be caught within 50 feet of that foul-mouthed filth--are not the same as pointing out McCain's policy and behavior, both of which can be documented. Now while I'm unsurprised at McCain's generally nasty, dishonorable and desperate behavior (because some of us were never taken in by his "maverick" act), you and too many of your colleagues are part of the problem, also. Who cares if the right wing brays about how they are being portrayed? If they stopped acting like they were 5 seconds from goose-stepping, there wouldn't be a problem. Yet they dislike what the mirror reflects, and blame the mirror.

What they are doing is immoral and dangerous, and you, Mr. Balz, feed into this with this cowardly attempt at false equivalency to cover yourself. Why do you even feel the need to this?

While it's very true that few things in this world are ever black and white, inciting hate is a clear wrong--and there is no equivalent. Oh--and engaging in this false equivalency doesn't stop the frothing of the right wingers.

First of all, Mccain said he would not run a dirty campaign. All he's done throughout his campaign is throw low blows. I personally believe that no politician is honest, but for Mccain too throw sladerous attacks at Obama not only makes him a hypocrite, but a damn liar also. If this man becomes president, it will be the nail in the coffin for America.

First of all, Mccain said he would not run a dirty campaign. All he's done throughout his campaign is throw low blows. I personally believe that no politician is honest, but for Mccain too throw sladerous attacks at Obama not only makes him a hypocrite, but a damn liar also. If this man becomes president, it will be the nail in the coffin for America.

Seriously.. what the heck does anyone's medical record have to do with the question whether or not that person is adequate to become the next president?
Wasn't one of your presidents sitting in a wheelchair while in office? Didn't another one of your presidents suffer from Addison's disease? Just to name a few.
If medical is so important to you, why not state a few pro's and con's on survival expectation based on age?

As for the remark "...with his family history of cancer, and blacks more likely to get cancer...especially relevant."
Have you actually taken some interest in Obama's background? Maybe you should... it's interesting.

Get out of your color cubicles please and start listening to what either one has to say, try to read between the accusations from either camp and list down pro's from either side that will actually help the AVERAGE American before you put up your vote.

Dan, equating Obama and McCain in this respect is ridiculous. As Glenn Greenwald demonstrates, this is a classic example of the media desperately trying to equate two plainly unequal things in the name of "balance." If you have a shred of guts, you will respond to Greenwald's article.

HEY, why demand that the media spill it ---let's let Mccain's own Repubs friends tell it like it is:

"...Indeed, McCain's neocon makeover is so extreme that Republican generals like Colin Powell and Brent Scowcroft have refused to endorse their party's nominee.

"The fact of the matter is his judgment about what to do in Iraq was wrong," says Richard Clarke, who served as Bush's counterterrorism czar until 2003. "He hung out with people like Ahmad Chalabi.

He said Iraq was going to be easy, and he said we were going to war because of terrorism. We should have been fighting in Afghanistan with more troops to go after Al Qaeda. Instead we're at risk because of the mistaken judgment of people like John McCain."............"

This article seems partly leaning to McCain.
The truth is neither one of the are clean.
McCain is desperate. The GOP will use any weapons to cast doubt on Obama. People now believe him as a Presidential. They know it.
McCain needs to admit he has had his own hand in his current situation. Picking Palin was not a smart choice. His own party is questioning if something should happen to McCain can she run the country.
Saying the economy is fundamentally strong.
By the way he did not say the workers of America. He said what he meant. He is out of touch. Period.

Nobody is really saying anything about the racism she is bringing out in people at rallies.
So are we going back to the days of the 60's where minorities are going to have to be marching in the streets for their rights? Is this what a McCain/Palin presidency would bring?
But yet it is okay for them.

It is okay that McCain has friend with racist like Jesse Helms and Trent Lott? But you don't hear anything about that.

Why because some Americans including the media are not ready for someone to be President who does not look like them.

Do us all a favor if you don't like McCain but don't want to vote for Obama, stay home or vote for Ralph Nader or whoever that other person is running. Write in a candidate, Romney, or that Christian govenor who was running.

To judge the severity of the personal attacks, look at the reaction of the crowds the attacks are delivered to. No one at an Obama or Biden rally has yelled out a death threat against McCain. It's happened TWICE now at McCain / Palin rallies, and that's just what the mics picked up. Judging by the hateful venom from the right being spewed on blogs (including earlier posts on this article), one gets the impression that McCain's strategy now is to incite some nut job out there. This is beyond gutter politics, this is irresponsible hate speech.

At what point does McCain and Palin get charged with inciting violence?? Their "terrorist" accusations are causing serious reactions in the crowds and that must be giving the Secret Service real concern......

This article is BS. Obama has been very mild. McCain has been totally over the top. To act like they have both been bad boys is insane. The writer of this article is just plain wrong on this and seems to have fallen under the sway of McCain's opium pipe.

as a strongsville native, i am embarassed by the insular (to use the sweedish word for racist) nature of the people there on a regular basis. but it shows that if mccain is there, they are losing their shirts in the race. i remember attending a 1992 rally for hw bush there...

Yeh, on that issue of character...what, does Mccain think he is invisible????

"........Charlie Keating, the banker and anti-pornography crusader, would ultimately be convicted on 73 counts of fraud and racketeering for his role in the savings-and-loan scandal of the 1980s. That crisis, much like today's subprime-mortgage meltdown, resulted from misbegotten banking deregulation, and ultimately left taxpayers to pick up a tab of more than $124 billion.

Keating, who raised more than $100,000 for McCain's race, lavished the first-term congressman with the kind of political favors that would make Jack Abramoff blush.

McCain and his family took at least nine free trips at Keating's expense, and vacationed nearly every year at the mogul's estate in the Bahamas. There they would spend the days yachting and snorkeling and attending extravagant parties in a world McCain referred to as "Charlie Keating's Shangri-La."

Keating also invited Cindy McCain and her father to invest in a real estate venture for which he promised a 26 percent return on investment. They plunked down more than $350,000.

Keating, for his part, made no bones about the purpose of his giving. When asked by reporters if the investments he made in politicians bought their loyalty and influence on his behalf, Keating replied, "I want to say in the most forceful way I can, I certainly hope so."...'

Ah angie12106, ignorance is bliss isn't it? Or is the new saying Limbaugh/Hannity/Fox News/RNC/McCain Campaign Talking Points is bliss? In any event, not to put too fine a point on it, YOU'RE WRONG. First and foremost, let's correct Senator McCain's LIE that Fannie and Freddie "went out and made all these loans..." Fannie and Freddie don't make loans, they guarantee them. Either McCain is LYING to fire up his sycophantic base or he's clueless, either way his statement doesn't reflect well on him and his knowledge of economics.

Second, banks and other financial institutions couldn't and wouldn't have made all these risky loans unless they could lay that risk off on someone else so that they were protected. Through what vehicle did the banks and other financial institutions lay-off that risk they'd just taken and get insurance that if the risky loans they made would be paid off? Answer: Credit Default Swaps.

Third, why are/were Credit Default Swaps so popular? Answer: Because the marketplace for them is entirely unregulated due to the skillful placement of a 292 page bill into a 11,000 page financial appropriations bill by...drum roll please...Senator Phil Gramm, R-TX who until a few months ago was Senator John McCain's Senior Economic Adviser. Phil Gramm snuck the rider into the appropriations bill in the late afternoon of the Friday before Congress broke for the Christmas holiday because he knew his colleagues wouldn't notice in their haste to leave town. The upshot of his rider, the Commodities Future Modernization Act, was to expressly forbid the regulation of Credit Default Swaps and other financial derivatives by the Commodities Futures Trading Board or any other government agency creating a completely invisible market without any responsible oversight or supervision.

Gramm had to fall on his sword after calling America - the country Republicans profess to loves so much - "A Nation of whiners".

There ya go, Pubbbies, that is what your leaders think of you when they don't want your vote, you're a "whiner". You're a whiner because Phil's bill has destroyed the stock markets and your 401K and life savings because of market tricks made into law by Phil Gramm.

So what happened as a result of Dr. Phil's evil, selfish prescription, written by the way by Enron lobbyists, who promptly used the opaque unregulated market Phil Gramm created to bankrupt the state of California. His Enron buddies used the same opacity to manipulate their earnings before their house of cards collapsed when their trading partners asked too many relevant questions about Enron's real financial health and refused to loan them any more money.

But, don't worry Pubblies, Phil wasn't alone in driving our financial markets off a cliff by refusing responsible regulation and oversight. His helper in chief was Alan Greenspan, Fed Chairman, who naive said that markets are self regulating based on the "enlightened self interest" of the parties entering into the transactions. Which is the same thing as saying kids can be trusted in a candy store by "enlightened self interest" in not getting a stomach ache from gorging on candy. It sounds good in theory but in practice it doesn't work out so well, kind of like self regulating markets didn't work out so well.

What's so bad about Credit Default Swaps anyway and why should I care? Answer: beside being the key enabling financial product of the housing boom and bust, they also spread that bad risk around to many, many other banks and financial institutions including insurance companies, investment banks, pension funds, hedge funds, national banks and foreign banks. All of these institutions, blinded by sales hucksters promising "double digit returns with no risk" bought them like ice cream on a one hundred degree day. So when things began to go bad after the adjustment period on those 5/1 ARM loans came due, the credit problem spread like wildfire through ALL financial institutions of every stripe like Bird Flu through a poultry farm.

And so we come to where we are we are today. All these different financial institutions are "infected" with these Credit Default Swaps and other Collateralized Debt Obligations, like Derivatives made from slices of Sub-Prime Mortgages, for which there is no longer a market so banks won't loan to one another because there is no assurance the recipient of the loan can pay the loan back because their books are stuffed with these toxic assets.

The markets have cratered, there's no credit available and American's retirement and other market based savings are all but wiped out.

And we have Phil Gramm and Alan Greenspan and their dogmatic, deregulatory right wing Republican orthodoxy to thank for it.

Warren Buffet called Credit Default Swaps and other derivatives "Financial Weapons of Mass Destruction". Unfortunately for us, Warren was correct about WMDs for the financial markets. George Soros, love him or hate him, is a major player on The Street and he won't put money into derivatives and CDSs because "we don't understand them". If someone like Soros with a life time on the street and the money to hire the brightest financial minds in the world won't touch derivatives and CDSs, why should we allow our banks to do so?

Politicians and Appointed Officials thought derivatives and CDS were good for the market but not good enough for oversight which should tell you everything you need to know about them.

Politicians and Appointed Officials told us that financial markets would regulate themselves out of "enlightened self interest". We're seeing how well that theory turned out as well.

Shame on you Dan Balz for trying to draw an equivalence between McCain's attacks and Obama's.

McCain IS erratic and his judgment CANNOT be trusted. He chose the completely unknown Sarah Palin to be his running mate after meeting her ONCE and having a brief phone interview. Now he's lurching from one gimmick to another--not trying to do what's right for the country, but trying to get favorable news coverage--on the economic crisis.

Give him a gold watch for his many years of service--NOT the Presidency.

And you wonder why the world doesn't "love" Americans. The hate-filled and hateful creatures above are enough to fill any civilized person with distaste. Scum of the earth. What have you done to your country and why do you encourage this racial filth and outrageous lies. Beyond disgusting.

McCain has been erratic and his whole "maverick" persona is at odds with his flipflopping and capitualation to the Bush Administration since at least 9/11. By contrast, the McCain attacks on Obama are without any foundation and a really base form of the usual GOP dirty tricks we've had in almost every election cycle since the "new" Nixon of '68. The kind of "balance" that Balz attempts is just ridiculous--you can't eqaute largely fact based questioning of "character" with baseless personal innuendo. "Character" in the past few election cycles has mostly been about whether the political press likes a a candidate and is in the tank with him. Bush was bizarrely 9for an alcoholic), the "guy you'd have adrink with". Gore was a a "phony and a liar" (although it turns out that Bush was the real liar. Understanding character means looking at more than isolated snapshots. McCain's recent behavior is actually pretty consistent with his lifelong behavior. Ditto Obama. Unfortunately, the press has too long bought a fiction about McCain's character based on his ability to engage and flatter them. And they can't quite give up on that--perhaps because it means losing acess or perhaps, also, because it means admitting that they've been had. So we get this chessy, phony "balance" instead. Broder's column today is just as bad and EJ Dionne, of all, people is wistful in his loss of McCain man-lobve. The WaPo has consistely delivered this kind of drivel through the entire election cycle. We can only hope that some of these dinosaurs will retire and be replaced with people like Dan Froomkin who seem to see past this nonsense.

Obama calls McCain erratic and McCain accuses Obama of working with terrorists. Why must both sides be so bad??? Thankfully we have the non-braindamaged Washington Post to always tell us how equally, equally bad both sides are.

As a voter who used to admire John McCain greatly -- and would have voted for him in 2000, had he survived the primaries -- I believe I have been fair-minded about the twists and turns of the current campaign. A "personal attack" dynamic has taken hold of this campaign, true enough, but it clearly was unleashed by McCain against Barack Obama -- and it remained a one-way street for about seven to 10 days after the Republican National Convention.

ONLY when it became evident that McCain had no intention of reining the low-minded Karl Rove protégés who run his campaign did the Obama campaign finally respond with attacks of their own.

And why wouldn't they? Do you remember the Swift Boat Veterans who lied, slandered, and defamed George Bush into a second term? It was despicable.

So, I'm asking you, Dan Balz -- right here and now -- why wouldn't the Obama campaign hit back hard? I say, more power to them. I admire Obama even more because he knew a street fight when he saw one and isn't afraid to throw a punch. He didn't start the fight, but, like any street fighter worth his salt, he knows how to end it: "hit fast and hit hard."

There is a reason McCain and Palin are dazed and slipping in the polls. And there is a reason I stated above that I "used to" admire McCain. I don't anymore. In fact, I now find him repulsive.

Drill baby drill on those issues Obama! Do that while the rest of us wait for McCain to sell us over with his stances, and how they'll benefit America. His camp is in a very poor condition and so this is yet another time we get to see how he performs with "leadership" characteristics. Right now, the team appears desperate. Their tactics scream loudly of desperation. I don't want a desperate leader, in desperate route to the White House. I want a Leader, calm and steady in the eye of the storm. When McCain realizes this isn't about him, he can get back to us by trying to convince us his plan is better than Obama's in regards to the people.

Let's face it, McCain is running the same kind of campaign that took him out in 2000. It shows what a win-at-all-cost hypocrite he has turned into. Nobody sums up the nonsense of these attacks like the so-called maverick himself. Check out the clip at the link below.

Obama appears to be between a rock and a hard place because if he doesn't counter attack, he is called "weak" by the press and when he does counter attack, he is perceived to be unpresidential. So I need to ask this question of the press, "what position do you want to see Obama take"?

He is trying to assure voters that he is "not the terrorist" McCain and Palin keep repeating and representing him to be[which does affect voters subconsciously where one cares to admit it or not]. He has not attacked in the past, but with Palin and McCain's UNTRUE AND HORRENDOUS attacks, he is left with no choice!

McCain and Palin have NOTHING left in their political trick bags to offer the electorate, so what else could we expect from them but for them [as snakes] to assassinate Obama's character. McCain knows his poll numbers have slipped into the toilet and he feels he has to stoop to a snake's level. Wrong! He has just lost any HONOR he may have been able to claim in past days [, and he certainly has no MORAL COMPASS by his rotten choice of avenues to take! SHAME ON McCAIN AND HIS PITBULL DOG PALIN; THEY DESERVE THE DEFEAT HEADING THEIR WAY!

The idea that both campaigns are equally responsible degrading the political discourse is laughable. Being a journalist doesn't mean you have to pretend that both sides are doing the same thing. Watch an Obama rally - it's nothing like the angry mobs you see being egged on by Palin and McCain

Dan, you're trying to look "evenhanded" and in doing so you're missing what is obvious: McCain is the one who started these personal attacks on Obama, using code words to scare people about his name, his race, his background and anyone he may have any remote association with.

To imply that somehow, both candidates are equally guilty of this type of thing is not credible. McCain is hitting below the belt and using scare tactics. He's desperate because he's going to lose.

Your analysis is dead wrong: When Obama fights back, you can't equate his behavior with McCain's. Never once has Obama raised suspicions about McCain's background, or name, or race. What you're doing is bad journalism.

Let me see here ... you've got McCain and Palin whipping their crowds into such a hate-filled frenzy in their efforts to paint Obama as some sinister "other" -- going so far as to say that Obama "pals around with terrorists" -- that the McCain/Palin crowds are calling Obama a terrorist, yelling "kill him" and "treason," and hurling racial ephithets at an African-American camera man trying to cover one of their rallies. Meanwhile, official speakers at these same McCain/Palin rallies repeatedly emphasize Obama's middle name in an obvious attempt to further demonize the man and feed the false rumors that Obama is a Muslim.

On the other side, Obama much more cooly refers to McCain as "erratic" (a term, I might add, that also has been used by many in the media to refer to McCain's actions over the last few weeks of the campaign).

Yeah, sure ... I can see how the actions of the two campaigns are morally equivalent. Give me a break, Dan! There simply is no comparison between the low levels to which McCain/Palin are stooping and Obama's efforts to defend himself against such slime. You know better!

everytime mccain surrogates launch an attack that really makes me upset, i donate somewhere between $5 and $10 to Obama's campaign... When will McCain get it that angry, baseless attacks will be met with only more support for Obama? Its the same logic that makes him think you can bomb our enemies into liking us. Its just not intelligent.

John McCain is not man enough to own his crap. John McCain will not openly confront Obama with his smears and lies and innuendo. John McCain will not come out and talk about Ayers, he has to be asked. That is why he goes to places like Faux News, so he can be asked. What a coincidence.

John McCain is a coward.

John McCain would rather hide behind his wife and Sarah Palin than say it himself.

He would rather produce 2 minute ads that his campaign will never pay to air anywhere, and hope that the tire-swinging media will bring up the topic so he doesn’t have to do it himself.

John McCain just wants to throw crap out there, and "raise questions" about Obama, and hope his supporters connect the dots, because he is too much of a coward to directly push this toxic stew. He would rather hide behind right-wing bloggers, surrogates, and scummy websites staffed with wingnut welfare recipients like the NRO and the Weekly Standard.

John McCain had 90 minutes to bring this stuff up to Obama, to his face, and passed.

Above commentator is absolutely right Balz's piece is fake "fair and balanced." After repeated attacks on the very fundamentals of who he is, Obama points out that McCain's reaction to the economic crisis has been "erratic," which it clearly is by any measure. (McCain just does not know what he believes about this stuff. As David Brooks, no burning partisan has said, McCain does not know whether he's TR or Barry Goldwater on economic issues.) So how are these the same sorts of behaviors? Only under the pretense of a fallacious "fairness."

Dear Stupid,
No one gives a damn about the never arrested Ayres, with the possible exception of the imbecile vetrens of vietnam who never did possess the gray matter to see who and why they were dropped into that money maker.
As far as the Annenbergs, though it may sound "jewy" to include that in your misinformation they are right wing supporters of Reaganesque ruling class tinkle-on economics.
McCain't ain't gonna happen. Besides the Commies that BushCo and WalMart are in bed with have movies of him ratting out and betraying the U. S. "effort" in Nam and will be happy to further denegrate America with them.

William Ayers has made four (4) trips to Venezuela to assist President Hugo Chavez in designing and implementing his "re-education" programs. Ayers says that "education is the motor of revolution." Folks, if this doesn't awaken you to Obama's radical philosophy nothing will. When Obama says vote for Change this is just one of the programs he means to implement. Why do you think Obama never listed the Chicago Annenberg Challenge on his resume of experience? After working with Ayers to spend $160 Million in targeted grants the experiment had absolutely nothing to show for it--no raised test scores, no better readers, no fewer dropouts. Nothing, Nada, Zero. This is a presidential candidate without any experience except community organizing with the likes of ACORN. And, don't fall back on the Annenbergs being conservative Republicans; this ill-spent tax-free money came from a Foundation over which they no longer had any control.

To Angie12106: No, it is not the Democrats who are responsible for all this mess and devastation....it is the Bush administration......and for 8 full years of it!!!! Bush is a "loose cannon" and so are McCain/Palin! If the Republican ticket wins, we can expect more of the same continuation of "Bush" irresponsibilites and we will sink deeper into a depression, etc.! I already voted Obama/Biden for change for the middleclass and all issues they uphold!

IT'S the END of the GREEDY OIL PARTY AS WE KNOW IT ...and I feel fine!!!

"Our economy is structurally sound for the long term"
George W Bush - Feb 11, 2008

"The American people can remain confident in the soundness and the resilience of our financial system"
Henry Paulson - Sept 15, 2008

"The fundamentals of our economy are strong"
John McCain - Sept 15, 2008

"The economy is fundamentally sound"
Herbert Hoover - October, 1931

McCain does not have the ability to fix this economic crisis. After declaring the fundamentals of the economy strong, he created a political circus in Washington last week by mucking up bailout negotiations; a deplorable stunt, considering he and his political cronies helped cause the current meltdown.

It was McCain and his economic adviser Phil Gramm who pushed for the deregulation that helped lead to the banking crisis, and it was McCain's crony Rick Davis who had deep lobbyist ties to Freddie Mac. Don't let others be fooled by McCain's economic grandstanding because the reality is his policies and principles will only exacerbate our financial hardships.

McCain is being deceitful with his sudden populist message and support for regulation; his economic policies still favor our nation's wealthy elite.

McPalin the man who lets a woman talk for him, is instigating the "nuts" in this country to go to a very dangerous place. This kind of karma always come home to roost. He needs to talk about his vision for America. Apparently, this is all he has for us.

Dan Balz....you don't have any. I'd wager you thought this a balanced article but it isn't. It's the "fiesty" duo of crumudgeon and clueless who offer nothing beyond the same divisiveness that is and has been the hallmark of republican politics. Panic now gives way to snarls and the hopeless feeling that too many younger, non-racists will make a new america instead of the priviledged ruling class and their crumbling Ponzi Pyramid.
All anyone needs to know is that when Grandpa made his senile move at pretending to "suspend" his campaign to "rush" back to "save" our economy, blowing off Letterman, he had time to first meet with a Rothschild. When one of those dark forces comes out from behind the curtain and publically switches allegiance from crook Hillary to crook McCain Obama must be a threat to the ruling elite.
I almost hope you baxtards try and fix the machines again against the coming landslide. Make my day.

Oh, spare me the outrage, Balz. You media types thrive on the negativity. The voters are forced to read/see whatever the MSM gives them; you guys focus on the negativity rather than the policy plans the candidates are putting forward.

If the MSM found the character attacks so unnecessary, they wouldn't be focusing on them. (Furthermore, if Obama hadn't responded to McCain, the MSM would say he wasn't tough enough, or he was in danger of being swiftboated like John Kerry. You guys change your positions like most people change their underwear.)

Remember, John Kerry took the high road when the Swift boaters threw him overboard. The MSM such as yourself questioned why Kerry didn't defend himself. Now you are questioning Obama's tactics in the filth that McCain Campaign put this election into? MSM has let McCain bully them... remember you guys kept looping the Wright videos. If I was Obama, i'd keep doing what he's doing.
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“John McCain dismissively called rival Barack Obama "that one," Obama mocked McCain's "Straight Talk Express," and both left the debate stage to return to the campaign trail Wednesday. It took just eight minutes into Tuesday's presidential debate for Republican candidate McCain to land the first blow, blaming Obama and Democrats for the collapse of mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. "They're the ones that, with the encouragement of Senator Obama and his cronies and his friends in Washington, that went out and made all these risky loans, gave them to people that could never afford to pay back," McCain said. Obama responded: "I've got to correct a little bit of Senator McCain's history, not surprisingly. ... In fact, Senator McCain's campaign chairman's firm was a lobbyist on behalf of Fannie Mae, not me." McCain campaign manager Rick Davis has a stake in a Washington lobbying firm that received thousands of dollars a month from Freddie Mac until recently. Davis is one of the many figures in both campaigns and near them who have been targeted as reasons why each should not be supported. As they head back on the road Wednesday, both campaigns say those associations would again be highlighted. McCain running mate Sarah Palin has questioned Obama's ties to William Ayers, who 40 years ago was a member of the Weather Underground, a radical group that claimed responsibility for a series of bombings. Obama had a limited relationship with Ayers, who lives in the same neighborhood and teaches at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Democrats have criticized McCain for his role in a 1980s banking scandal. He was one of five senators who had accepted contributions from Charles Keating Jr., a real estate speculator and savings and loan owner. Keating's institution failed and cost many investors in uninsured financial products their life savings. Neither figure came up during Tuesday's debate. Nor did either candidate call the other a liar, a familiar charge in this contentious campaign. The closest: "You know, Senator McCain, I think the Straight Talk Express lost a wheel on that one," Obama said. McCain suggested some evasiveness on Obama's part: "Nailing down Senator Obama's various tax proposals is like nailing Jell-O to the wall. There has been five or six of them and if you wait long enough, there will probably be another one." In one pointed confrontation on foreign policy, Obama bluntly challenged McCain's steadiness. "This is a guy who sang 'bomb, bomb, bomb Iran,' who called for the annihilation of North Korea — that I don't think is an example of speaking softly." That came in response to McCain's accusation that Obama had threatened to invade Pakistan. McCain said his rival "was wrong about Iraq and the surge. He was wrong about Russia when they committed aggression against Georgia. And in his short career he does not understand our national security challenges. We don't have time for on-the-job training." Obama countered with a trace of sarcasm that he didn't understand some things — like how the United States could face the challenge it does in Afghanistan after spending years and hundreds of billions of dollars in Iraq. During a discussion of an energy bill McCain offered up a two-word phrase that immediately got a reaction. "You know who voted for it? You might never know. That one," McCain said, pointing at his opponent. The debate at Belmont University was the second of three between the two rivals, and the only one to feature a format in which voters seated a few feet away posed questions to the candidates. The audience was selected by Gallup, the polling organization, and was split three ways among voters leaning toward McCain, those leaning toward Obama and those undecided. Tom Brokaw of NBC, the moderator, screened their questions and also chose others that had been submitted online.”

Remember, John Kerry took the high road when the Swift boaters threw him overboard. The MSM such as yourself questioned why Kerry didn't defend himself. Now you are questioning Obama's tactics in the filth that McCain Campaign put this election into? MSM has let McCain bully them... remember you guys kept looping the Wright videos. If I was Obama, i'd keep doing what he's doing.

“The McCain campaign is “on the ropes”, and sadly it's no surprise they're responding with attacks and outright lies.

We’ve heard some pretty unspeakable things in the past few days -- deeply offensive smears that we'll hear over and over again until Election Day.

John McCain and Governor Palin are setting a new low in presidential politics with their dishonorable campaign.

After Tuesday night's debate, it's clear why John McCain doesn't want to talk about the issues facing ordinary Americans -- especially the economy, which his own advisers admit he can't talk about without losing.

Barack won Tuesday night, Oct. 7th, 2008, by offering clear plans to rebuild our economy from the bottom up, lower healthcare costs, and end the war in Iraq responsibly.

McCain tried to push more of the same disastrous Bush administration policies -- more tax cuts for the wealthy and giant corporations, deregulating the healthcare industry and taxing employer-based healthcare plans, and continuing to spend $10 billion a month in Iraq.

So what's left for the McCain campaign? Negative attacks and lies.

And it's even worse from some of the well-funded outside groups supporting McCain, whose sole purpose is tearing Barack down with smears.

Instead of focusing on the issues that really matter, our opponents are doing everything they can to encourage this toxic atmosphere.

Barack has been put in the position of defending himself from these smear tactics, unfortunately.

Character assassination works, that is the problem. No matter how untrue the smear, it always leaves suspicion. Where there is smoke, there has to be fire. If you keep throwing mud at somebody long enough, sooner or later some of it will stick. People still haven't forgotten about Filegate, Lewinski, and Whitewater, even though all that was years ago. As a result of such mutual character assassination, the new President will have a damaged reputation from Day One.

Palin just headlined a $10,000 per person fundraiser at the home of John "Jack" Donahue, founder and head of Federated Investors, who was recently fined over $75 million dollars by the SEC for unethical practices. He was forced to give money back to investors. These are exactly the people who have lined their pockets while economically raping and pillaging the average American.

But, oh, fer sure, she's gonna get all "mavericky" with these buiness types when she's elected.

Despite a coordinated move by central banks across the planet to cut interest rates, stock markets continued their downward spiral. . Some analysts are now suggesting the crisis could be even more severe than previously believed. Stocks plunged in the final minutes of trading today (10/09/08), sending the Dow down more than 650 points (7.33%) to their lowest level in more than five years. All indexes were all also fell—NASDAQ down ~5.5% and S&P losing 6 percent. This is crisis.
If you look at the recessions in this country going back to the '40s, the stock market falls an average 34% before bottoming, and we are just past that point now. The only question: Will this be average or something worse?

Despite the economic downturn, lost of jobs, declining wages, long unemployment lines and bailouts, McCain wants to discuss about manufactured “character” wedge issue! WTF! Does this guy even comprehend the acuteness of our present economic conditions? I very much doubt it. I guess when you are worth close to 200+ million dollars with multiple mansions in different time zones, you assume life is a beach. It is NOT. Real people are hurting—losing jobs, losing their homes, livelihood to a fault of their own. Candidates should talk about their plans on the economy. Voters want to hear their plans on job creation; voters want to know how they can send their kids to school, put food on the table, pay their electricity and heating bills, etc. McCain should stick to the issues.

Any reasonable person that is even considering for voting this babbling fool should have their heads examined. I am looking at my 401K quarterly statement and it has lost more than 1/3 of its value! And McCain wants to talk about what again? Anything but the economy!

The hatred being whipped up at the Johnah McPalin events has echos the Brown Shirts of Munich's Beer Halls. Despicable and un-American. To anybody who thinks that McCain is a Maverick and a principled man; I have some Enron stock I'd like to sell you. Because if you're buying the Palin act - you'll buy anything.

If McCain and Palin keep up these lies they will surely incite violence among the more racist, narrow-minded horde that seems to be a growing part of their base now. It just proves that Rolling Stone magazine was right when it described him as a spoiled child seeking attention. He'll do anything to get what he wants - even if it means starting a second civil war.
Is that what he means when he keeps saying about country first?

today historians will mark the beginning of the end for the united states of america. today, a vice presidential candidate for one of the two major political parties said of her opponent, "he will disgrace the office of the presidency." between this statement and those made at the mccain speech, it shows the republican party would rather destroy the country than lose an election. if no republicans of good conscience deplores these statements, then it will only show our country and the world the depravity of the republican party. today should remind older voters especially of nazi germany.

the other day i watched a youtube video of a mccain rally where someone in the crowd is heard screaming (referring to obama) 'kill the fu.king bit.h' - then you can see mccain wincing immediately after -

i've been to two obama rallies and never did i witness such outright hatred -

the republicans have set the gold standard for negative campaigning - ever since the clinton impeachment, they've been the champions of innuendo, attack-dog policy, divisiveness, and distortion, and they've established the tone for campaigning in general (witness the primary between clinton and obama) - but the obama campaign has become increasingly negative during the presidential campaign to combat the incredible negativity of the republicans - kerry was criticized for not responding to the rovian blurring of truth and fiction during the 2004 campaign, and although the obama campaign started out positively enough, it didn't stay that way for long, and for good reason -

when dan balz tries to equalize the negativity from both camps, i have to disagree - confrontationaly, obama has never stooped so low as to refer to his opponent as 'that one', or in ads to suggest that his opponent is advocating child abuse - the republicans are the torch bearers for abusive campaigning, and the democrats resort to negative campaigning to combat it -

what is unique about this election year is that the republican attacks are inadvertently exposing the racism of their core suporters - when mccain asks 'who is barack obama?' and someone in the crowd yells 'kill the fu.king bit.h', it underlies not only the negativity of their approach, but the violence inherent in it -

What I have noticed over the past eight years is projection and deflection from the Republicans. They consistently take their actions and deflect public scrutiny by projecting those actions on their opponents. Most of the time their actions are the opposite of their publicly stated positions. If they were actually called on the discrepancy between their actions and their platforms, the voters would recognize that they are not worthy of serving in government. It's unfortunate for all Americans that these politicians understand that the public are easily-led sheep.

When McCain calls Obama a liar, he is projecting the fact that his campaign has taken the leading position on lies. When Palin asserts that Obama is a traitor, she projects her husband's actions and relationships with a traitorous sect. The worst of it all is their claiming to be Christians when few of their actions follow the teachings of Christ.

I don't see this as frequently with liberal politicians but it does happen. It would be nice if the MSM would look into this impartially and inform the voters about these tactics. Some of us still read and compare multiple sources for information and can discern reality from spin.

After just watching a McCain-Palin rally on TV, I was struck by the 99% white audience and the fact that they think that Democrats will socialize America. Instead of "liberal," they are shouting "socialism." Well, just to look at the crowd, I could shout Naziism and fascism. I am a white, middle-age souterner and I know racism and implied racism when I see it.

The hatred that is being coddled at the McCain-Palin rallies is not a good thing for America. The Bill Ayers smoke screen is just that.

Gee you guys have been sounding just like you did when Hillary was a threat to "the one".

Really, really when you think about the HUGE money advantage, two to one, three to one, four to one and currently even 6 to one in Florida Obama would have this sewn up.

That and the obvious fawning support of the MSM....what gives?

Do you suppose we non Obama supporters cannot be harassed or forced to support "the one"?

Why?

I just saw Dr. Sanjay Gupta say Obama refuses to release his medical records. He had his doctor release a ONE PAGE summary of his medical information.

This is the "young" stud whose big selling point is his "youth" vs that supposed "old dodderer". Why won't Obama release those records? This is a legitimate request and with his family history of cancer, and blacks more likely to get cancer...especially relevant.

McCain released his records. What gives?

So now we have the medical question to add to Ayers, Wright, Rezko, Pflegger and Annenberg.

this is one of the worst columns I've read in a long time, and one of the scariest. Mr. Balz has has apparently bought the Republican party line lock stock and barrel. The historical context in which this mudslinging is occurring is fundemental here. Bush/Rove Republicans and their forerunners including Atwater and his proteges have been doing it for the last 20 years and this is a sickening continuation of the same. The truly unfortunate choice of Palin is part of the same cynical outlook that brought us Willie Horton and Swift boats...pure politics with no sense of how damaging the consequences might be. Obama, on the other hand, has tried his best to stay above this and has mostly succeeded, as any clear-thinking, unbiased observer can see. Balz, in trying to write as a neutral observer, has badly skewed the facts...and the result is truly shameful. Just ask Krauthammer, Will and Parker.

The economy is tanking, but what is John McCain discussing? The economy?

No.

His focus is Mr. Ayers.

Since it is of such vital importance, will McCain also tell you that the people who put Mr. Ayers on the board he was on with Barack Obama were William and Leonore Annenberg?

You may recognize the latter name, since John McCain listed her the other day as one of the 100 former ambassadors who endorse his presidency.

Using McCain's distorted logic, my question is this...do you think it is seemly for Mr. McCain to accept an endorsement from somebody who gave an important position of authority at their foundation to a "domestic terrorist?"

John McCain.

Hypocrite.

Unfit to serve.

At the end of my post, there is a short video from the John McCain of 2000 which shows he has no respect for the John McCain we see today.

Wow, too bad the Olympics are over, because Dan Balz deserves the gold medal for False Equivalency. But I'm glad to know that describing someone's flip-flopping on the economy as "eratic and uncertain" is the same thing as painting your opponent as an un-American, troop-hating, terrorist sympathizer.

In 1986, Linda Chavez, one of Reagan's White House staff, ran against Barbara Mikulske for the US Senate in Maryland. She ran a dirty, smear-filled campaign, largely supported by conservatives and money from outside the state. When Barbara crushed her in the election, 60% to 39%, Barbara stated that "In Maryland, dirty politics is losing politics." I believe the same will be true for America this time around, and that the Obama-Biden ticket will demolish the McCain-Biden trash campaign.

Several of the five aircraft that spiraled out of Mr. McCain's control in the past were characterized as "flame outs". His current campaign seems to be following suit. As his numbers nose dive toward a crash and burn scenario he seems determined to plumb the depths of deceit and dishonor with an utter disregard for his legacy and place in history. Our certified war hero, happy warrior, "Mr. reach-across-the-aisle" darling of Democrat and Republican alike has vanished from view, and sadly will soon be lost to our memories as well. The tragedy unfolding before us is ugly and dismaying in the extreme. To wit: an irascible, mean-spirited, stumbling old goat wallowing in a cesspool of calumny, dishonor and shameless lies. When my trusted and beloved old hound stumbled onto a skunk when out on the trail, repeated bathing in tomato juice diminished the ordure and allowed him to be welcomed back into hearth and home. Sadly, it seems that so much stink will cling to the empty shell of a once great American when this is all over that no such happy rehabilitation will await him. While I cringe in the face of his despicable tactics my heart and prayers remain with him.

Republican ideology and McCain's vision for America DIED. They were the first casualties of the global market crash.

The Wall Street Journal is now opining that the Federal Treasury should buy CITIGROUP BANK!

Just weeks ago I was hearing what a socialist Obama is. Of course, that was before the capitalists went begging the Republican President to give them the biggest social spending program in the history of the world.

But things are looking up. In a few weeks I get to vote a black Muslim terrorist named HUSSEIN into the White House.

Bud0's message is so perceptive and on-target that it deserves to be repeated in its entirety.

If you didn't read it the first time around, please read it now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Foreigners like myself are continually baffled by American journalists' need to show "balance" even at the expense of truth.

There's no way the fault is split equally. McCain's campaign and his nasty surrogate the demagogue Palin have openly announced their intention to degrade the discourse and resort to insult and innuendo. At least one of their advisers has admitted that THE WHOLE POINT is to distract voters from the economy, and "change the subject".

But Balz can't drop the US media "fair and balanced" act.

Fairness in journalism is not about being equally nice to both sides. It's about calling the truth, as best you can see it, without fear or favour.

I'm not saying Obama is perfect, but look at the facts: the ISSUE of the day is a clear winner for him. Since the economy has dominated the headlines, he's turned a 3-point deficit into an 11-point lead. So he WANTS to talk about the issues. McCain is desperate not to.

If you're too afraid to state the obvious, you end up saying nothing at all.

I agree with this article. If you think McCain and Palin are the only ones engaging in low-level smear tactics, you haven't been paying attention. It is very sad that in these extraordinary times both candidates are running ordinary campaigns that rely on character attacks and half-truths. It make me wonder how much "Change" we will actually get with Obama. I'm still supporting him and still will vote for him but I am becoming much less inspired by and excited about him.

"One thing that the rightwing has never been able to explain is that if William Ayers is a terrorist, why has George Bush allowed him to move freely around the homeland the past eight years?"

"Because the statue (sic) of limitations expired."

Uh, no. Ayers surrendered to the feds after years of hiding in 1980. The charges against him were thrown out because of prosecutorial misconduct. Much of the evidence gathered by the FBI was obtained illegally so Ayers went free (thank you, Mr. Hoover). He was never tried, never convicted.

First, I read an article in which you demonstrate complete ignorance of geography -- expressing bewilderment that Obama's candidacy has had more of an effect on one state that borders Illinois (Indiana) than another (Wisconsin.)

Einstein, Indiana borders Chicago; Wisconsin doesn't. Hundreds of thousands of residents in Indiana used to live in Chicago and hundreds of thousands still work there. The equivalent number in Wisconsin is pretty close to zero.

Now, you write an article giving Obama and McCain EQUAL blame for the negative campaigning. I'm not going to bother contesting your opinion, but get some facts right.

Here's the fact dummy -- There are HUNDREDS of important people in Illinois who have what you call a "relationship" with William Ayers. These relationships exist because Ayers has been a VERY RESPECTED EDUCATION PROFESSOR FOR DECADES.

For you to identify Ayers only as a terrorist (he was in his 20s, was never convicted of anything, and is now in his 60s; he was named Citizen of the Year in Chicago in 1997) is SHAMEFUL.

You are propagating McCain's smear techniques by INACCURATELY IDENTIFYING AYERS.

And lets add a bit...McCain is not "unstable", Obama is not a terrorist. We, the bloggers of the United States, love to perpetuate these beliefs in defense of our party. We're only making it harder on ourselves. Maybe its US who need to cross the isle a bit, no?! We, the bloggers, are just as crazy and partisan as the candidates. No better, no worse. If you don't like all of these bogus attacks, which most of us don't, then stop talking about them, and lets discuss the issues, even if the candidates won't.

SHarah Palin and McCain are running a "Rush Limbaugh" type of campaign, filled with hate, non-issues, rhetoric, more hate, more rhetoric, no issues, hate, oh and they even have a druggie who is now allowed to speak...WE demand that Cindy take a drug test if she wants to speak out on the campaign trail....because we need to make sure that she isn't under the influence....although she looked and sounded high yesterday...Her speech was very slow and slurred and she looked as if she was about to start drooling.....I say random drug test for her! you betcha!

So it looks like Dan (No) Balz is saying that Obama should just pretend that McCain/Palin aren't bashing him every day with lies and 100 percent negative ads. That didn't work very well for Gore and Kerry, and Obama is smart enough to know that he has every right to hit back hard against the smears.

We are witnessing the implosion of a Republican party that has run on hate, fear, and division for the past 30+ years. It's always darkest before the dawn, and things will certainly turn ugly--- as is evidenced by the video below. But on November 5th, we will wake up to a new political reality. There will be a massive turnout at the polls by (1) young voters (2) poor voters (3) minority voters and (4) independent/former republican voters who have all chosen to put hope above hate.

And it should scare you, too. This is the product of another Republican Presidential campaign (McCain's) that has been built on fear, hate, and ignorance. The people in the video repeat the same BS talking points that you can hear on Faux News every night; the same talking points that have been repeatedly proven false. They have no interest in reality; they have no interest in the truth; they have no interest in the economy, health care, or education. They care about one thing and one thing only: race.

Look at the expressions on these peoples' faces. Look at the visceral reactions. Look at the sheer hatred. That's what this election is about. It's about things like truth, justice, community, and hope triumphing over hate.

Get ready for the implosion. This is, in my view, the end of the Republican party as we know it. It's always darkest before the dawn. In the coming days, the hatred will get even more intense. The attacks from the McCain camp will become even more negative. The Republican talking heads will blanket the airwaves with smears that will make Willie Horton look like child's play.

Since Nixon, the Republican party has utilized a policy of (1) fear mongering (2) hate mongering (3) and voter suppression. They scare up their base; use negative campaigning to make people annoyed and disinterested with politics; then suppress the vote by any means necessary. For the past several decades, this strategy has worked brilliantly. Remember all those "we hate gays" "gay marriage will destroy your family" ballot initiatives from 2004? That was scaring up the base, ratcheting up the hate, and getting out the republican vote. Remember the long voting lines in the ghetto; the bogus "sample ballots" they distributed in poor, democratic neighborhoods; the purging of voter rolls; the road blocks that made it physically impossible to access the polls? That's all part of this same strategy. Stir up the hate, suppress the vote, and the Greedy Oil Party wins again.

But not this time. The politics of hope will triumph over the politics of fear.

Once again our election has come down to this. It was inevitable. Two years ago I had hoped that THIS election was going to be different and that the canidates were - if nothing else - not your "ordinary" canidates. That quicky came to a halt after seeing the last debate and I was once again left with the feeling that choosing between these two canidates is like picking between syphilis or gonorrhea. I blame our two-party system, the corruption of politics and the media.

No one had to point out to me McCain has become erratic, his actions since the primaries have steadily shown this. Was the John McCain we thought we knew really the same one as 4 or 8 years ago or is this just his true ambitions showing which haven't previously had the opportunity to surface? Regardless of which it is I have found it a very disturbing trend.

John McCain seems to have set integrity, honor and clear judgment aside to win at all costs no matter what the cost. It sure seems like blind ambition to me.

If having been on a charity board with a former terrorist makes you one as well then let's also look at McCain's record.

In the mid-1980's McCain sat on the board of directors of a known Latin American terrorist organization that was funneling money to the Sandinistas.
In 994,1995 McCain voted against making it a federal crime to bomb abortion clinics, shoot doctors and nurses working there, and terrorizing young patients trying to enter these clinics.

If Obama is a terrorist sympathizer because of a board association, then McCain certainly is as well, even worse.

"Obama launched the first "guilt by association" attack linking McCain to Bush."
I suppose you could call this "guilt by association" if you 1) thought that GWB was truly guilty of immoral or illegal acts and 2) felt that John Sidney McCain III had not really been in support of GWB or his policies (despite John Sidney McCain III's own avowal of 90% Bush support) and that 3) the many many images of John Sidney McCain III and GWB hugging, kissing, shaking hands, etc. were all fake and products of Photoshoppery. Otherwise, you've got guilt and you've got association, but it ain't "guilt by association".

WHO IS SARAH PALIN? She was introduced to me just 5 weeks ago. If McCain was say....60 or even 65 and healthy, I wouldn't give 2 hoots...but he's 72 and a cancer patient so I care.

By appointing this woman, I have to ask...Why would McCain do this to us? Why would he do this to his party? why would he do this to the country.

WHY oh WHY did he not vet her out more thoroughly? Her education, exposure, ability to read without a teleprompter...Now she's inciting racial hatred making us all look like podunk Misissippi bigots to the rest of the world.

Like I'm suppose to not vote for Barack Obama now because his middle name is Hussein? Huh?

If you, the reporters, would do your jobs and stop reporting or at least report accurately the slime that's being put to the public these attacks would stop. One story on McCain/Palin/Ayers was more than enough - especially since the truth is so dull. Also, if reporters would also report McCain's connection to the Annenbergs - the people who set up the Foundation where Obama met Ayers - he would shut up. It's hard to critize someone when you take money from the same people. But no the media want a fight and name callig so they report stupid things.

Why no reporting on Cindy's drug addiction and thievery and McCain's adultery? Because Obama has not seen fit to get in the mud but if he does McCain/Palin have a lot of stuff to report.

McCain doesn't have a let to stand on when it comes to "character". This coming from a man who cheated on his crippled first wife Carol then married his mistress, now second wife Cindy. Could it be that Cindy was only 25, pretty, blonde and very very rich?...you be the judge of that one!

The trouble with Balz' opinion piece is that it lacks historical context. Look, Bush, Rove, et. al., perfected the personal character assassination approach to politics in both 2000 (v. McCain mostly) and 2004 v. Kerry. Kerry didn't fight back hard enough or soon enough, and the result was disastrous. So here comes McCain, via Palin, attacking Obama's character in 2008, and yet Obama is supposed to refrain from fighting back? Get real, Mr. Balz. If you don't understand the sad necessity of hitting back just as hard as you are being hit in order to survive, then you're a lot more foolish than I and many other Post readers thought.

Do you really think McCain believes Obama is un-American? I don't, but that's the enhanced message Sarah Palin is selling. That's the permission slip for racists and wierdos to shout out, to ooze from the slime. I have read some of those ugly emails extremist supporters of McCain have been spreading. They scare normal rational people. How can people who open the door to fears and prejudice sleep at night knowing what they say is being used as an excuse for hate to grow? How is this putting country first?

Do you think, as McCain says, that Ayer's association is a matter of questioning Obama's veracity? If so, why didn't McCain bring up the subject at the debate? No, I don't buy that rationalization either. You don't use a toxic subject to make a point unless you want the poison to rub off.

John McCain is employing the very tactics he once disdained. That says more about McCain's integrity than the Ayers' association says about Obama's truthfulness?

Hey, dwashington1, why is it that the most unreadable writers like to post the longest pieces? I don't care who you're for, you just don't deserve to post anything that long, and we don't deserve to have to keep our fingers on the scroll button for two hours trying to get past it. Can't the Post put some kind of limit on this thing?

The Republican campaign and Sarah Palin are no longer acting in a responsible manner. Inciting a crowd with 'codewords' and other innuendos and lies isn't worthy of being called a presidential campaign event. It is simply and plainly a campaign of hate.

There is no obligation for the press to cover hate mongering under some idea of 'fairness' in reporting.

McCain and Palin must stop encouraging potential attacks on Obama. Their speeches are going well beyond their First Amendment rights into the realm of incitement of violence.

It is journalists like you that directly contribute in keeping the people of this country uninformed. The brotherhood of journalism you belong to, gave us George Bush and Dick Cheney. The country is in this shape because you and your brothers spread the myth that GW was more "likeable" than John Kerry. When the Swift Boaters attacked John Kerry's record in Vietnam and portrayed him as a coward, journalists like you did not protest. You took the "balanced" path and let the horrible lies and misrepresentations to stand, thereby allowing a very incompetent person to be the President, and he and his cohorts has taken our country to the edge of the cliff. Now, you again showing "balance" and letting the corrupt Republicans to again retain the Presidency and the power in the body of John McCain.... what a shameful role to play!

I agree with this article to a certain degree. What bothers me is that in an attempt to seem balanced and fair, the media is doing a disservice to those that listen, read and engage in its stories.

The bottomline is that McCain is responsible for beginning the negative tide this campaign has turned. His numbers have plummetted, the "Palin Effect" has become the Palin Drag and he's now desperate to turn things around. What amazes me is how not one of his commericials is about him, or what he will do as commander-in-chief, but rather about how he believes Obama is unfit to be President.

I appreciate the media in adhering to the duty of being balanced and fair. However, the truth here is that this situation is not balanced. McCain is counting on fear-mongering and race-baiting to win this race. Fortunately, most Americans don't seem to be buying it.

I sent an email to John McCain today, knowing he will never read it. I said that I had once admired him but that his campaign tactics are utterly dishonorable. He has adopted the Rove like behavior that attacked him so shamefully in 2000. I asked him "What price glory?How very sad for him and for this country.
His choice of Palin is insulting to thoughtful voters and exciting to a side of America that is a little scary. There is nothing wrong with plain speaking middle America...she just gives it a meanness it doesn't deserve.

I think the last few weeks prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the GOP just doesn't "get it". For me the biggest barrier to voting for the Republicans has always been their tone. They want to run elections on wedge issues and culture wars instead of sound public policy. The are much more interested in dividing people and getting to 51% than they are in broadening their appeal to a wider range of voters.

So here we are again, another election where the only GOP contribution is the politics of hate and division.

"I agree with fairfaxvoter; Obama launched the first "guilt by association" attack linking McCain to Bush."

Posted by: MarkInAustin

Well, in that case... but Bush is a real terrorist, and McCain not only voted with him 90 percent of the time, but was happy to have his picture taken sniffing Bush's armpit and giving him a brokeback mountain hug.

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Now is our time for proactive AMERICAN Citizenry. Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the people we’ve been waiting for. Yes We Can.

Europeans ignored GOP REPUBLICAN McCain-Bush call for help. The historic Democratic primaries covered exhaustively by European news outlets are not the sole reason the fire has gone out of European GOP REPUBLICAN McBush-hatred. One of the main sparks fueling it was a deep frustration that Americans couldn't see what Europeans considered obvious: that GOP REPUBLICAN McBush is a moron.

America, Europe and the World need healing through forward thinking Scholar and Community Leader Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law.

Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law will unite America, Europe and the World in friendship and cooperation.

Europe and the World are watching our 2008 Presidential Election to see if we act in dignity and grace or revert back to our penal American colonial, cannibalistic and dumping grounds for old world criminals way. The daughters of the American Revolution quoted the last words spoken to their European ancestors were, For your crimes you will hang from the neck or given the opportunity to take your chances in the New World American Penal Colony.

We will either unite as ONE United States of America World leader or come in second to the expanding European Union.

McBush said Mission Accomplish seven years ago. Now Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire is saying Mission Accomplish to more failures. Perhaps America should dissolve the defunct GOP REPUBLICAN Party for decades of failures and ruins. The World would welcome such progress. Mission Accomplish.

Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law is a United States Senator from Illinois and nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2008 presidential election.

A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he served as president of the Harvard Law Review, Obama worked as a community organizer and practiced as a civil rights attorney before serving in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. He taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004.

Obama delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. He was elected to the Senate in November 2004 with 70% of the vote.

As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, he helped create legislation to control conventional weapons and to promote greater public accountability in the use of federal funds.

He also made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

During the 110th Congress, he helped create legislation regarding lobbying and electoral fraud, climate change, nuclear terrorism, and care for returned U.S. military personnel.

After announcing his presidential campaign in February 2007, Obama emphasized withdrawing American troops from Iraq, energy independence, decreasing the influence of lobbyists, and promoting universal health care as top national priorities.

It is wonderful that the World loves America under the leadership of Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law and looks forward to cooperating with America again in friendship, peace and economics.

America, Europe, Asia, South America and the World are looking forward to cooperating with Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law.

Constitutional Law Professor and Harvard Law Scholar Irish-American Barack Obama will be the smartest and most beloved President in American History.

America Loves Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law

Germany Loves Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law

France Loves Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law

England Loves Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law

Russia Loves Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law

Italy Loves Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law

Mexico Loves Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law

Venezuela Loves Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law

Brazil Loves Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law

Spain Loves Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law

Hillary Loves Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law

It is wonderful that the World loves America under the leadership of Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law and looks forward to cooperating with America again in friendship, peace and economics.

International Court of Justice (The Hague) Wish To Speak With McBush, Cheney, Rice, Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire in January for War Crimes.

GOP REPUBLICAN WALL STREET Get Rich By Selling America Party started the illegal Iraq War. Now the GOP REPUBLICAN s are totally obligated to imGOP OWNED MEDIA OF MISINFORMATIONtely stop the illegal Iraq War.

Mumbles Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire came into conflict with higher-ranking personnel and did not always obey the rules, which contributed to a very low class rank (894 of 899) that he did not aim to improve. Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire earned a reputation as a partying man. The planes he was flying crashed twice and once collided with power lines.

GOP REPUBLICAN McSame, McBush, Cheney, and Rice are paying themselves and their Obscene Super Rich OOIIILLLL friends millions of Treasury dollars in bonuses as Average Americans suffer and watch their children future decline. GOP REPUBLICAN s have caused trillions of dollar debts outsourcing Our Country to China, Saudi Arabia and India. I see nothing patriotic about GOP REPUBLICAN s destroying the lives of millions of Americans in the name of WALL STREET Obscene Super Rich speculative greed.

GOP REPUBLICAN Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire-McBush Have Many Many Many Crisis To Answer For

The Multiple Crisis that are hurting OUR COUNTRY are the fault of the Administration, Supreme Court, Congress and especially the GOP REPUBLICAN Party for allowing GOP REPUBLICAN International War Suspects McBush, Cheney, and Rice to lie, cheat and steal their way into the Highest Office on Earth and remain there for eight years. The Entire World thinks that America was ridiculous for allowing GOP REPUBLICAN criminals and scoundrels to steal their way into office not once but twice. If you locked three Rock Wellers in a jewelry shop for eight years without supervision, what would you expect upon returning? Why are Americans surprised that the three scoundrels McBush, Cheney, and Rice have smashed up the place and almost destroyed America in eight years? You should have expected bad things from those criminals eight years ago and stopped them back then. Instead of stopping the trillion dollar criminals, the GOP OWNED MEDIA OF MISINFORMATION (Wacko Bill Meltdown O’Reilly, Newsmax, O’Reilly Racist Factor, FOX News, Super-racist Sean Hannity, Glen Beck, The New Yorker) went after the Dixie Chicks, Paris Hilton, Rosie O’Donnel, and Britney Spears. How stupid.

The World is watching and laughing at our stupid GOP OWNED MEDIA OF MISINFORMATION and defunct WALL STREET robber barons greedy selfish shortsighted failed Supercapitalistic system. Since when does the prerequisite for becoming the President includes being a poor military academy student, out of action POW, computer illiterate, senior citizen and husband of a recovering drug addict / thief / criminal?

Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire is qualified to be a former POW and Mrs. McThief is qualified to be a recovering drug addict. What a pair and example for our youth.

Sarah Failin Failin OOOOIIIIILLLLLL Commissioner OOOOIIIIILLLLLL Commissioner OOOOIIIIILLLLLL Commissioners the North Pole trailer lady will not help our country as vice president.

The defunct GOP REPUBLICAN WALL STREET Get Rich By Selling America Party started the illegal Iraq War against the objection of Most Americans and the Entire World. Now the GOP REPUBLICAN s are obligated to imGOP OWNED MEDIA OF MISINFORMATIONtely stop this illegal Iraq War; involve Europe in the peace keeping / rebuilding task; and face the International Court of Justice (The Hague) on charges of War Crimes.

GOP REPUBLICAN Failures Bush II attacks the US Constitution and steals elections from the American People
GOP REPUBLICAN Failures Bush II attacks the United Nations and declares an illegal war against an innocent country Iraq
GOP REPUBLICAN Failures Bush II smuggles criminal Saudi Arabian friends of the Bush out of the country who were key figures in the attack against our country
GOP REPUBLICAN Failures Bush II speculates with his millionaire OOIIILLLL criminal WALL STREET friends to illegally raise a barrel of OOIIILLLL from $24 to $145
GOP REPUBLICAN Failures Bush II speculates with his millionaire OOIIILLLL criminal WALL STREET friends to illegally raise a gallon of gasoline from $1.50 to $4.50
GOP REPUBLICAN Failures Bush II illegally starts wire tapping citizens, torturing prisoners, and attacking Mexican-American workers (who are the backbone of American labor)
GOP REPUBLICAN Failures Bush II tarnishes America’s good name with the World
GOP REPUBLICAN Failures Bush II is perceived as a villain to the World
GOP REPUBLICAN Failures Bush II, Cheney, and Rice War Crimes questioning by The Hague
GOP REPUBLICAN Failures Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire is owned by millionaire OOIIILLLL criminals and will continue the Bush policies of failures

Americans, Europeans and the World are under the impression that Rich GOP REPUBLICAN s are pathological and thieves. And they are right. False statements, cheating and undermining Democratic values are GOP REPUBLICAN tools to hurt mankind in their selfish destructive quest to own and control this beautiful World that’s temporarily enjoyed by all.

GOP REPUBLICAN Failures Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire-McBush must answer to the fact that a barrel of OOIIILLLL was $24 when McBush took office and now a barrel of OOIIILLLL is $145. GOP REPUBLICAN rich OOIIILLLL conspiracy has undermined the American People and Our Economy in their quest for selfish, destructive and greedy ill gotten Obscene Super-capitalistic WALL STREET gains.

Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire-McBush seven years ago changed a barrel of OOIIILLLL from $24 into today’s Obscene Super-capitalistic greedy out of control $145.

Will the American people sit on their hands and allow Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire-McBush continued out of control WALL STREET Obscene Supercapitalistic greed to raise a barrel of OOIIILLLL to $200?

The price of OOIIILLLL is a national emergency. OOIIILLLL should be imGOP OWNED MEDIA OF MISINFORMATIONtely nationalized for United States national defense.

Were the GOP REPUBLICAN Failures Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire-McBush serving the American People or serving their Obscene Super-rich friends when they help change the price of a barrel of OOIIILLLL from $24 to $145 in just seven years?

It’s time to Nationalize U.S. OOIIILLLL and the Energy Industries for National Defense.

300,000,000 Americans come first when it comes to the greatest benefits to the greatest number. When one percent of the population (Obscene Super rich), owns and runs everything to the destruction of the ninety nine percent (typical Americans), then something must change. Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire-McBush represents greed and destruction that must stop.

If you love America, then you should inspire the American People to rise higher and HOPE for better days.

America is HOPEFUL and GREAT and will follow the HOPEFUL and inspirational message of Harvard Scholar Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law.

This is the greatest presidential race in history, because Harvard Scholar Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law is flying like an eagle.

EUROPE, CHINA, RUSSIA, SAUDI ARABIA, AND SOUTH AMERICA ARE WATCHING YOU

THE WORLD IS WATCHING AMERICA’S 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
THE WORLD IS WATCHING AMERICA’S 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
THE WORLD IS WATCHING AMERICA’S 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

AND THE WORLD WILL JUDGE WHETHER AMERICA IS SUITED TO BE ITS MORAL LEADER.
AND THE WORLD WILL JUDGE WHETHER AMERICA IS SUITED TO BE ITS MORAL LEADER.
AND THE WORLD WILL JUDGE WHETHER AMERICA IS SUITED TO BE ITS MORAL LEADER.

London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Madrid, Rome, Tokyo, Peking, and the other capitals all look forward to cooperating with President Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law.

Mumbles Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire-McBush petitioned to have a dictionary close by to keep up with Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law’s intellectual discourse.

Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire’s public insults towards his own wife and McBush’s public insults towards the AMERICAN PEOPLE have precluded them from moral judgment upon the World. Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire-McBush and Sarah trailer Failin Failin OOOOIIIIILLLLLL Commissioner OOOOIIIIILLLLLL Commissioner lack moral and intellectual credibility to sit in judgment of the World and serve the AMERICAN PEOPLE.

AMERICA is voting in an intellectual scholar from Harvard Law to right OUR COUNTRY and prosecute the criminal Obscene Super-capitalists.

The World is watching how a self professed Christian Moral Nation handles its pivotal point in history during the 2008 presidential election.

Will AMERICA rise to the occasion with maturity, dignity, intellect and grace?

Or will AMERICA degenerate into the GOP REPUBLICAN ’s Policy of Hate?

Will GOP REPUBLICAN s again toss evil words of hate to OUR PUBLIC and promote a filthy campaign worthy of pre-WWII Germany?

This is a pivotal time in AMERICAN history.

Will AMERICA run a dignified 2008 presidential election?

Or will AMERICA allow Hillbillies to take over the GOP OWNED MEDIA OF MISINFORMATION and orchestrate the message of hate that will shock the watching World?

A barrel of OOIIILLLL was $24 when McBush took office.

It's time for AMERICA to nationalize OOIIILLLL and Energy Industries for National Defense.

Rich OOIIILLLL billionaires and WALL STREET (Obscene Super-capitalism) selling out Our Country the United States of AMERICA for their own selfish profits is unpatriotic and treason.

AMERICA belongs to AMERICANS and not to WALL STREET sell-out Obscene Super-capitalists who send trillions of OUR U.S. DOLLARS overseas in chase of the highest imGOP OWNED MEDIA OF MISINFORMATIONte return on their private investments. Greed does not work and greed is destroying OUR COUNTRY. Dependence on foreign OOIIILLLL and OOIIILLLL billionaire businessmen are destroying OUR COUNTRY.

ImGOP OWNED MEDIA OF MISINFORMATIONtely nationalize OOIIILLLL and energy industries for U.S. National Defense. It’s the intelligent thing to do. AMERICANS are collectively much more important than a handful of billionaire Obscene Super-capitalists on WALL STREET who have allegiance to no one, but their own private, selfish, destructive, and nation undermining capital gains.

Manipulating the price of OOIIILLLL from $24.00 a barrel to $145.00 a barrel. whose interest are they lobbying for? Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire-McBush policies are not in America’s interest.

Plans to keep American troops in Iraq for 100 years

Plans to initiate the draft to secure enough troops

These are just a few of Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire-McBush policies of failures that must stop.

GOP REPUBLICAN WALL STREET Super Rich Are Emptying Our National Treasury To Give Each Other $10 Million Dollars Bonuses Every Year While Outsourcing Our American Jobs To Foreign Sweatshops. GOP REPUBLICAN s lobby for no regulations to steal the United States National Wealth from the American People. This is not GOP REPUBLICAN patriotism in the least, but treason.

GOP REPUBLICAN WALL STREET Super Rich giving each other multi-billion dollar unsecured loans backed only by a handshake or slap on the back during golf outings and drink parties. Our United States Treasury emptied by these GOP REPUBLICAN s every year in exchange for Annual Mammoth National Debt forced upon the American People to pay.

Nationalize the American OOIIILLLL Industry for National Defense, if you love America.
America is not for sale now or ever.

Obscenely Super Rich Capitalistic privileged C students with no business running hotdog stands illegally place themselves, their rich friends, and their rich family members into the highest positions of OUR COUNTRY to maintain, promote, and expand their ill gotten wealth at the expense of Average Americans. Do you still think that lieing GOP REPUBLICAN s are patriots? I think not.

Greed and stupidity are destroying Our Country and it must stop.

America must get back to moral decency, family values, respect, honor, scholarship, and service to the general Public.

America is about Public Service and not private greed.

Change is happening and America, Europe and the World welcome cooperation.

Out with GOP REPUBLICAN WALL STREET Robber Barons.

In with the U.S. Constitution and the American People.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

We The People Are Voting For Harvard Scholar, Irish-American, and Constitution Law Professor Barack Obama.

LOBBYIST MCCAIN WALL STREET OOIIILLLL MILLIONAIRE-MCBUSH AND THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE (THE HAGUE) WILL HOLD MCBUSH, CHENEY AND RICE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ILLEGAL IRAQ WAR

The American People Have Been MCCAINED, HOODWINKED, BUSHWHACKED By the GOP REPUBLICAN LOBBYISTS PARTY OF

The GOP REPUBLICAN Party has sold its soul in exchange for private WALL STREET gains that have sent trillions of Our U.S. dollars overseas to sweatshops and tax havens at the expense of the American People. This blindly overzealous Las Vegas gambling style GOP REPUBLICAN WALL STREET greed, which is selling to the highest bidder Our Beautiful Country must stop. America doesn’t belong to the greedy GOP REPUBLICAN WALL STREET Banks. Our Beautiful America belongs with Americans. It’s time to get that straight.

The OOIIILLLL Crisis is a National Emergency that must be imGOP OWNED MEDIA OF MISINFORMATIONtely Nationalized for National Defense. America must be saved by the American People. We’ve learned that America cannot rely on irresponsibly greedy GOP REPUBLICAN s WALL STREET Banks that have no loyalty to the American People. The greedy GOP REPUBLICAN s are outsourcing American jobs to overseas sweatshops and sending trillions of Our U.S. dollars to overseas tax haven. These greedy GOP REPUBLICAN acts are giving foreign governments and private billionaires a direct say and ownership in Our Country. The GOP REPUBLICAN s are not patriots, but destroyers of the American Dream. We the People must take back Our Beautiful America Now.

International Court of Justice (The Hague) will question Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire-McBush-Cheney-Rice in January about their involvement in the Iraq War.

A long-delayed Senate committee report endorsed by Democrats and some GOP REPUBLICAN s concluded that President McBush and his aides built the public case for war against Iraq by exaggerating available intelligence and by ignoring disagreements among spy agencies about Iraq’s weapons programs and Saddam Hussein’s links to Al Qaeda.

The report was released after years of partisan squabbling, and it represented the close of five years of investigations by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence into the use, abuse and faulty assessments of intelligence leading to the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

That some McBush administration claims about the Iraqi threat turned out to be false is hardly new. But the report, based on a detailed review of public statements by Mr. McBush and other officials, was the most comprehensive effort to date to assess whether policy makers systematically painted a more dire picture about Iraq than was justified by the available intelligence.

The 170-page report accuses Mr. McBush, Vice President Dick Cheney and other top officials of repeatedly overstating the Iraqi threat in the emotional aftermath of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

In a statement accompanying the report the president and his advisers undertook a relentless public campaign in the aftermath of the attacks to use the war against Al Qaeda as a justification for overthrowing Saddam Hussein.

The report on the prewar statements found that on some important issues, most notably on what was believed to be Iraq’s nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs, the public statements from Mr. McBush, Mr. Cheney and other senior officials were substantiated. The administration statements did not reflect the intelligence agencies’ uncertainties about the evidence or the disputes among them.

In a separate report the intelligence committee provided new details about a series of clandestine meetings in Rome and Paris between Pentagon officials and Iranian dissidents in 2001 and 2003. The meetings included discussions about possible covert actions to destabilize the government in Tehran, and were used by the Pentagon officials to glean information about rivalries in Iran and what was thought to be an Iranian hit team intending to attack American troops in Afghanistan.

The report criticized the meetings as ill advised and keeping the State Department and intelligence agencies in the dark about the meetings, which the report portrayed as part of a rogue intelligence operation.

The two reports were the final parts of the committee’s so-called Phase 2 investigation of prewar intelligence on Iraq and related issues. The first phase of the inquiry, begun in the summer of 2003 and completed in July 2004, identified grave faults in the C.I.A.’s analysis of the threat posed by Mr. Hussein.

The report on Iraq was especially critical of statements by the president and vice president linking Iraq to Al Qaeda and raising the possibility that Mr. Hussein might supply the terrorist group with unconventional weapons. Representing to the American people that the two had an operational partnership and posed a single, indistinguishable threat was fundamentally misleading and led the nation to war on false premises.

GOP REPUBLICAN s on the committee sharply dissented from the report’s findings and suggested that the investigation was a partisan smoke screen to obscure the real story: that the C.I.A. failed the McBush administration by delivering intelligence assessments to policy makers that have since been discredited.

The report about the McBush administration’s public statements offers some new details about the intelligence information that was available to policy makers as they built a case for war. For instance, in September 2002 the defense secretary told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Iraq problem cannot be solved by airstrikes alone, because Iraqi chemical and biological weapons were so deeply buried that they could not be penetrated by American bombs.

Two months later, however, the National Intelligence Council wrote an assessment concluding that the Iraqi underground weapons facilities identified by the intelligence agencies are vulnerable to conventional, precision-guided, penetrating munitions because they are not deeply buried.

Congress had never been told about the National Intelligence Council’s assessment.

International Court of Justice (The Hague in Europe) will question Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire-McBush-Cheney-Rice in January about their involvement in the Iraq War.

The OOIIILLLL Crisis is a National Emergency that must be imGOP OWNED MEDIA OF MISINFORMATIONtely Nationalized for National Defense. America must be saved by the American People. We’ve learned that America cannot rely on irresponsibly greedy GOP REPUBLICAN s WALL STREET Banks that have no loyalty to the American People. The greedy GOP REPUBLICAN s are outsourcing American jobs to overseas sweatshops and sending trillions of Our U.S. dollars to overseas tax haven. These greedy GOP REPUBLICAN acts are giving foreign governments and private billionaires a direct say and ownership in Our Country. The GOP REPUBLICAN s are not patriots, but destroyers of the American Dream. We the People must take back Our Beautiful America Now.

The American People Have Been Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaireed-McBushed-Hoodwinked-Bushwhacked By the GOP REPUBLICAN Lobbyists and Party of .

PRESIDENT OBAMA OF HARVARD LAW PREDICTED TO HEAL AMERICA AND THE WORLD

The match-up between John Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire and Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law is close in nationwide surveys in the United States, but around the World it's no contest: Obama of Harvard Law prevails.

A survey of 24 nations taken by the Pew Global Attitudes Project finds high levels of interest in the U.S. presidential election and broad optimism that American foreign policy "will change for the better" after the inauguration of a new president next year.

In 21 of the 23 foreign countries, those polled express more faith in Obama of Harvard Law than in Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire to "do the right thing regarding World affairs." In the other two nations, Pakistan and Jordan, neither inspires much confidence.

"Obama of Harvard Law obviously has an appeal that has crossed the waters," says Andrew Kohut, who directs the Pew project. "Some of it may have to do with his being associated with opposition to the war in Iraq, which is consistent with views of people around the World. Some of it may have to do with his charismatic qualities and the fact that he's different than the typical American presidential candidate."

Among the findings:

•Interest is high. Japanese are even more likely than Americans to say they are following the election closely. At least of half of those surveyed in Germany, Australia, Jordan and Britain say they are paying attention. In most of the nations surveyed, a third or more are tuning in.

•Optimism about a new president is broad. About two-thirds of those surveyed in France, Spain, Germany, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania predict U.S. foreign policy will improve after the inauguration. In 20 of 24 nations, more say U.S. foreign policy will change for the better than for the worse.

•Obama of Harvard Law is heavily favored. In 21 of 23 countries, more people have faith in the Illinois senator than in Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire to "do the right thing" in foreign affairs. The two contenders were essentially tied in the United States and Jordan.

In most countries, Obama of Harvard Law is also more trusted than Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire. The contrast was particular steep in Europe, where McBush made his farewell presidential tour. In France, where he visits Friday, 13% say they have "a lot" or some confidence in McBush to do the right thing. Six times as many, 84%, say that of Obama of Harvard Law.

If the best the GOP REPUBLICAN Get Rich By Selling America Party can do is Bush and Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire, then the GOP REPUBLICAN Party should be dissolved.

GOP REPUBLICAN WALL STREET MILLIONAIRES ARE PAYING THEMSELVES $10,000,000 BONUSES FROM MONEY STOLEN FROM THE UNITED STATES TREASURY, WHILE SENDING OUR AMERCAN JOBS OVERSEAS. RECKLESS OUTSOURCING IS DESTROYING AMERICAN MANUFACTURING AND THE AMERICAN ECONOMY.

GOP REPUBLICAN OOIIILLLL addiction has become the new crack drug and we better get off soon

GOP REPUBLICAN WALL STREET MILLIONAIRES ARE PAYING THEMSELVES $10,000,000 BONUSES FROM MONEY STOLEN FROM THE UNITED STATES TREASURY, WHILE SENDING OUR AMERCAN JOBS OVERSEAS. RECKLESS AMERICAN JOB OUTSOURCING IS DESTROYING AMERICAN MANUFACTURING AND THE AMERICAN ECONOMY.

Nationalize U.S. OOIIILLLL For National Defense.
Nationalize U.S. OOIIILLLL For National Defense.
Nationalize U.S. OOIIILLLL For National Defense.

Clean nuclear electric energy is the answer. USA partnership with France will produce clean abundant Nuclear Fusion electricity. Eighty percent of French electricity is produce through nuclear energy. USA will learn nuclear production of clean energy.

Over 35 percent of France’s total energy requirement and over 78 percent of French electricity demands are met by nuclear energy. In 1999, France generated 375 billion kWh of electricity from its fifty-eight pressurized water reactors currently in operation. The electrical generation capacity of these plants is 65,702 MWe. France also operates one fast reactor, which generates 250 MWe of energy.

Because of their large operation capacity, the French also export energy, mainly to the rest of Europe, roughly 72.1 TWh per year. This large amount of energy generation allows France to be more energy self-sufficient than most European countries. In fact, France is over 50 percent able to meet its own energy needs, an incredibly large percentage for a modernized, western country. In comparison, Italy is only 18 percent energy self-sufficient. This was one of the goals of the French Nuclear program, to decrease French dependence on foreign energy sources.

The French national energy company, Electricite¢ de France (EDF) runs France’s nuclear power plants. The EDF was created in 1946 to alleviate the energy shortage that occurred just after World War II. In the 1950s the EDF provided France with the energy to modernize itself into an industrial power. However like most energy corporations, the EDF relied heavily on hydrocarbon generation up until the first OOIIILLLL CRISIS occurred. Then it was decided that the EDF should pursue NUCLEAR ENERGY TO REDUCE FRENCH DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN ENERGY.

GOP REPUBLICAN Get Rich By Selling America And Using Our Public Office For Private Gains Is Treason against the American People. Big OOIIILLLL inside trading millionaires Bush, Cheney, Rice, and Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire will answer for war crimes.

The White House connection to Big OOIIILLLL goes too far. Now Chevron's OOIIILLLL tanker named Condoleezza Rice is too much OOIIILLLL conspiracy in the face of the American people.

The double-hulled OOIIILLLL giant, Condoleezza Rice, is part of the international OOIIILLLL tanker fleet of the San Francisco-based multinational OOIIILLLL firm, named several years ago Rice because she is a Chevron OOIIILLLL board member and stockholder.

There's never been an administration in power in this country that has been so close to a single industry, the OOIIILLLL-and-gas industry.

You wonder why a barrel of OOIIILLLL rose from $24 to $145 when OOIIILLLL millionaires Bush, Cheney, Rice took over. You wonder why a gallon of gasoline rose from $1.50 to $4.50 when OOIIILLLL millionaires Bush, Cheney, Rice took over.

Public Integrity raised the issue of the OOIIILLLL tanker's moniker. Look at the president and his background, the vice president (executive at Halliburton), (Commerce Secretary) Don Evans and his OOIIILLLL interests . . . and now this."

Rice closeness to a major OOIIILLLL company. It's not every day that someone has an OOIIILLLL tanker named after her.

Bush specifically request the Condoleezza Rice OOIIILLLL tanker be given a name change -- particularly since Chevron OOIIILLLL does business on six continents and 25 countries, and has been sued for human rights abuses in Nigeria.

The Center for Constitutional Rights filed suit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, charging Chevron OOIIILLLL aided Nigerian police in attacks on local communities protesting Chevron OOIIILLLL production activities.

The Rice OOIIILLLL tanker came up at the White House briefing in connection with the incident in Nigeria.

Chevron OOIIILLLL giant has no intention of renaming the Condoleezza Rice and noted that board member Carla Hills also had a Chevron OOIIILLLL tanker named in her honor before she was appointed former President George Bush's trade secretary -- and the vessel has kept the name.

Naming OOIIILLLL tankers after members of the OOIIILLLL board of directors.

Rice's office did not return repeated phone calls, but she told Fox TV that she has no regrets regarding her Chevron OOIIILLLL ties and huge WALL STREET OOIIILLLL profits. Big OOIIILLLL has been good to me.

Rice and the White House decisions directly involving Chevron OOIIILLLL. Condi Rice is dealing with issues that are enormous interest to Chevron OOIIILLLL. From a public relations standpoint, they're desperately hoping this is one OOIIILLLL tanker that doesn't run aground. That could be a major problem.

IRISH-AMERICAN BARACK OBAMA OF HARVARD LAW WILL bring back our United States Constitution and Rights of the American people. Who is better to save the country than an Ivy League United States Constitution Law professor who loves his country more than GOP REPUBLICAN s love ill gotten WALL STREET speculation money.

GOP REPUBLICAN WALL STREET MILLIONAIRES ARE PAYING THEMSELVES $10,000,000 BONUSES FROM MONEY STOLEN FROM THE UNITED STATES TREASURY, WHILE SENDING OUR AMERCAN JOBS OVERSEAS. RECKLESS OUTSOURCING IS DESTROYING AMERICAN MANUFACTURING AND THE AMERICAN ECONOMY.

This remarkable unleashing of deep Democratic energies went hand in hand with clever GOP REPUBLICAN efforts to subvert the will of the American People, whether by overt corruption or covert manipulation. This corruption or manipulation resulted from the widespread market activity that was incompatible with the good of the American Public. American Citizens were well aware that the voices of the People could be offset by powerful GOP REPUBLICAN market elites bending the system to serve the interests of the few. The economic power of the GOP REPUBLICAN s was recognized to be the primary source of WALL STREET speculators’ corruptions.

Democratic dialogue was motivated by opposition to the market–driven greedy GOP REPUBLICAN s obsessed with obscene quantity of moneymaking with little regard for the quality of the Public’s Democracy. Democratic love of wisdom was contrasted sharply against the GOP REPUBLICAN s love of money.

Impeach the defunct GOP REPUBLICAN Party of WALL STREET Obscene Super Rich Thieves for milking our country the way wolves milk cows. America deserves intelligent and honest leadership demonstrated by scholars who love America, Americans and Our Freedom. America the Beautiful belongs to All Americans and will no longer be the plaything for WALL STREET Obscene Super Rich GOP REPUBLICAN s wolves.

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE (THE HAGUE) WISHES TO SPEAK WITH MCBUSH, CHENEY, RICE, LOBBYIST MCCAIN WALL STREET OOIIILLLL MILLIONAIRE IN JANUARY FOR WAR CRIMES.

GOP REPUBLICAN WALL STREET Get Rich By Selling America Party started the illegal Iraq War. Now the GOP REPUBLICAN s are totally obligated to imGOP OWNED MEDIA OF MISINFORMATIONtely stop the illegal Iraq War.

Mumbles Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire came into conflict with higher-ranking personnel and did not always obey the rules, which contributed to a very low class rank (894 of 899) that he did not aim to improve. Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire earned a reputation as a partying man. The planes he was flying crashed twice and once collided with power lines.

McSame Poor Military Record / McWife Former Criminal Drug Addict

GOP REPUBLICAN John Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire (McBush III) is a weak candidate, but that does not give him the excuse to publicly insult his wife who is a recovering drug addict.

In 1989, Cindy Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire became addicted to opioid painkillers such as Percocet and Vicodin, which she initially took to alleviate pain following two spinal surgeries for ruptured discs and to ease emotional stress during the Keating Five scandal, which involved her as a bookkeeper who had difficulty finding receipts.

The addiction progressed to where she resorted to stealing drugs from her own AVMT. During 1992, Tom Gosinski, the director of government and international affairs for AVMT, discovered her drug theft.

Subsequently in 1992, her parents staged an intervention to force her to get help; she told her husband about her problem, attended a drug treatment facility, began outpatient sessions, and ended her three years of active addiction.

Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire's defense team, led by Washington lawyer John Dowd, secured an agreement with the U.S. Attorney's office that limited her punishment to financial restitution and enrollment in a diversion program, without any public disclosure.

Meanwhile, in early 1994 Gosinski filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire, which he told her he would settle for $250,000. In April 1994, Dowd requested that Maricopa County officials investigate Gosinski for extortion. The Phoenix New Times was about to publish a negatively-cast article about the whole affair.

Cindy Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire pre-empted this by publicly revealing her past addiction, stating she hoped it would give fellow drug addicts courage in their struggles: "Although my conduct did not result in compromising any missions of AVMT, my actions were wrong, and I regret them."

A flurry of press attention followed, including charges by Gosinski that she had asked him to lie concerning her drug use when the Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaires were applying to adopt their baby from Bangladesh and statements by past AVMT employees that Gosinski had once threatened to blackmail her.

The Arizona Republic published an editorial cartoon ridiculing the motivations for her AVMT work and an award dinner in her honor was canceled citing poor ticket sales. In the end, both Gosinski's lawsuit and the extortion investigation against him were dropped.

AVMT concluded its activities in 1995. That year, Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire founded a new organization, the Hensley Family Foundation, which donates monies towards children's programs in Arizona and nationally, and she was largely a stay-at-home mom during the balance of the 1990s. She also held positions as vice president, director, and vice chair of Hensley & Co.

It is difficult to protect the country with McSame who graduated last in his war college and last on the battlefield. You cannot protect the country while spending your career as a prisoner.

Basically, McSame is qualified to be a prisoner and his McWife a recovering drug counselor.

Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law takes the high road, while Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire swims in the sewer.

Racial profile raids violate our Constitutional Rights and must be stopped imGOP OWNED MEDIA OF MISINFORMATIONtely. American industries rely heavily upon Latin workers and must protect them and American industries from these violations. These workers are productive and vital members of our society and must be protected.

If someone commits a crime and is picked up by the authority, then by all means check his/her status. Destructive people should be checked and separated from society.

Pulling a racial profile raid (telling workers to get off the roof and stand in line, because they have brown skin) is a violation of our Constitutional Rights.

Raiding a Latin birthday party and telling everyone to line up is a violation of our Constitutional Rights.

Raiding an Indian wedding and telling everyone to line up is a violation of our Constitutional Rights.

Going after law breakers and checking their status are correct actions.
Patrolling the borders to maintain America's safety from smugglers is the right thing to do.
Prosecuting WALL STREET bankers for drug money laundry is the right thing to do.
Prosecuting owners and executives of container ships bringing illegal drugs by the tons is the right thing to do.
Prosecuting WALL STREET price fixers, market manipulators and destructive speculators is the right thing to do.

Going after innocent productive members of society, because they have brown skin is a violation of our Constitutional Rights.

Americans have grown so fat, lazy and addicted that if you asked them to cook their own food; watch their own kids; clean their own homes; wash their own clothes; build their own homes; landscape their own yards; pick their own food; or repair their own cars; then they would faint.

Democrats left office with gasoline at $1.50 a gallon and OOIIILLLL at $24 a barrel.

GOP REPUBLICAN takes office and raises gasoline to $4.50 a gallon and OOIIILLLL to $145 a barrel.

Which group loves America and which group loves money by any means?

Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law takes the high road, while Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire swims in the sewer.

GOP REPUBLICAN MCBUSH TAX BREAK FOR THE OBSCENE SUPER RICH
Let's call this trillion-dollar giveaway what it is - the Paris Hilton Tax Break. It's about giving billions of dollars to billionaire heirs and heiresses at a time when American taxpayers just can't afford it.

The REPUBLICAN s have brought out the Paris Hilton Tax Break in June because they're eager to make it an election issue in November.

And I think that's fine. In fact, I'm eager for the American people to choose. Because if people want their government to spend one trillion dollars - an amount more than double what we've spent on Iraq, Afghanistan, and the War on Terror combined - on tax breaks for multimillionaires and multibillionaires, than the GOP REPUBLICAN Get Rich Quick By Selling America and Robbing the US Treasury is your party.

If the American people want to borrow billions more from the Chinese, spend billions more in taxes to pay the interest on our debt, and watch billions cut from health care and education and Gulf Coast Reconstruction, then the Paris Hilton Tax Break is your tax break

Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law takes the high road, while Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire swims in the sewer.

The nation's biggest financial firms, battered by huge losses in their mortgage businesses, are relying on an enigmatic source for cash: foreign governments in the Middle East and Asia.

Citigroup sold a 7.8 percent stake in the company worth $14.5 billion to a group of investors, including the government of Singapore and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, as it revealed a colossal $10 billion loss. Merrill Lynch reported a massive loss, said that it sold a special class of stock worth $6.6 billion to funds managed by South Korea and Kuwait.

U.S. Banks have sought help from foreign government investment pools, known as sovereign wealth funds.

The worsening credit crunch in the United States has left domestic financial institutions with little choice but to seek help from foreign governments that have been enriched by the surge in the price of OOIIILLLL and the trade gap between the United States and Asia.

Once satisfied with holding safe bonds such as U.S. Treasurys, these countries now are stockpiling some of the largest investment funds in history and are looking for bargains in the ailing U.S. financial sector. Sovereign wealth funds have invested more than $40 billion in WALL STREET's biggest names, including UBS, Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns.

The rapid rise of these funds represents a fundamental shift in financial power away from the United States. And their growing clout is causing concern on Capitol Hill.

"As investments by sovereign wealth funds in American companies increase and the specter of control and undue influence by government entities looms. "We should be keeping a watchful eye on these investments as they increase in size and scope."

A major issue for lawmakers is the transparency of these funds. Some, like Norway's, which has $350 billion, are upfront about their activities. Others, such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority's $875 billion fund, which is the World's largest, are more secretive.

Sovereign wealth funds recently have preferred to make passive investments that do not allow them to have any say in management decisions.

They don't want to worry the markets. "But you have to ask the question: 'What do they really want?' And that's the mystery behind these funds, we don't know who runs them."

Lawmakers reacted strongly against a Dubai firm that wanted to buy U.S. seaports in 2006 and a state-run Chinese firm that tried to take over a U.S. OOIIILLLL company in 2005. But since those incidents, sovereign wealth fund managers have become more savvy in their dealings with Congress by hiring lobbyists and by keeping their stakes low enough that they don't trigger reviews by regulators.

Little furor erupted last summer when Dubai paid $825 million for U.S. clothing retailer Barneys New York in June and followed with a 19.9 percent stake in the NASDAQ Stock Market.

The greater concern is the economic weakness that has eroded the power of the U.S. banking system.

GOP REPUBLICAN on the Senate Banking Committee, has asked the Government Accountability Office to study the emergence of sovereign funds. GOP REPUBLICAN recognizes the important role that foreign direct investment plays in the U.S. economy, and he welcomes such investment though it compromises our national security.

About two dozen countries have established sovereign wealth funds, including Libya, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Australia. While precise data about these funds are difficult to obtain, GOP REPUBLICAN WALL STREET analysts agree that their value Worldwide has reached $2 trillion and is likely to grow at least fivefold by 2012.

Notable funds include Norway's, which is viewed as a model of transparency and governance. Its managers have been actively advising several nations, including East Timor, Bolivia, Nigeria and Russia, which are starting funds. The Kuwait Investment Authority, a longtime investor in Chrysler, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are also respected for their acumen and size.

China's source of money is its trade surplus with the United States and other countries. In the past, China poured much of its surplus of $1.3 trillion into U.S. Treasurys. Now it is seeking higher returns and a more diversified investment strategy. On Sept. 29, it took $200 billion from its surplus and launched a sovereign wealth fund. One of the fund's first moves was to invest $3 billion into one of GOP REPUBLICAN WALL STREET's biggest names, private-equity giant Blackstone.

Sovereign funds' activity has demonstrated that they are primarily focused on maximizing profit by any means. They are not investing in the United States as "a goodwill gesture, but they are not doing it as foreign policy either -- they are doing it to make obscene quantity of money at the American taxpayer (U.S. Treasury) expense.”

What Are the Consequences of a Government Bailout?

Paying for GOP REPUBLICAN WALL STREET Losses:
A bailout would potentially put taxpayers on the hook for billions to offset Fannie's and Freddie's losses.

National Debt
It would most likely make it more expensive for the United States government to borrow money in the future, since the government's potential obligations, which currently stand at $9 trillion, would rise by an additional $5 trillion.

Investors Suffer
Shares of Fannie and Freddie would probably be worth little or nothing.

AMERICA AND EUROPE LOVES PRESIDENT IRISH-AMERICAN BARACK OBAMA OF HARVARD LAW

Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law bolsters his foreign policy credentials back home with trips to Germany, Britain, France, and the Middle East. The most visible and symbolically important stop was Berlin, where he gave a major address in front of 200,000 adoring friends of the next American president. He received the warmest welcome in history reminiscent of President John F. Kennedy’s legendary visit and “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech in 1963.

Obama of Harvard Law is viewed in Germany as the next Kennedy, and he is linking his theme of a generational change in leadership to Kennedy’s appeal for the torch to be passed to a new generation.

The expectations in Europe are sky-high. Obama of Harvard Law has the confidence of 84 percent of the French, 82 percent of the Germans and 74 percent of the Brits.

First, Obama of Harvard Law is not President Bush, and he is not a REPUBLICAN . This is seen as a great plus by most Europeans, especially Germans, because Europeans do not like GOP REPUBLICAN s Bush or Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire.

For Europeans, Bush represents a militaristic approach to international affairs, compounded by bad manners (unilateralism) and a naive and reckless engagement with an un-American World. Like most Americans, Europeans believe the Iraq war was a major mistake and a violation of international law. This has damaged the image both of American competence and of America as a democracy that respects international law and civil liberties. The Hague will question Bush, Cheney, Rice and Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire in January about War Crimes. Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire is seen as Bush’s third term of incompetence.

Obama of Harvard Law’s appeal goes beyond the fact that he is not Bush. He, and many of his foreign policy advisers, are of a younger generation shaped by the post-Cold War era. In addition, he has lived outside the U.S. and is able to see how the country is viewed by non-Americans. This makes him better equipped to deal with a new transatlantic relationship, forged not by the East-West conflict but by the challenges of globalization. Kennedy spoke in a divided Berlin and thought of Germany and Europe as the pivot in the struggle with the Soviet Union. Obama of Harvard Law will speak to Berliners, many of whom were born after the wall fell, and to a Europe that is an indispensable partner in dealing with such non-European challenges as global terrorism, energy and climate security, and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. He will be thinking of Afghanistan and the Middle East rather than of Berlin or even the Balkans.

In this sense, he can connect to his audience and to the leaders of Europe, most of whom are closer in age and outlook to him than they are to the elderly Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire. And Obama of Harvard Law looks like the new America, with its racial diversity and openness to new groups. This alone will transform the image of Bush’s America among most Europeans.

In addition, Obama of Harvard Law is cool and Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire is hot, and Europeans prefer cool. He is unflappable, while Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire’s temper is legendary. And he is willing to deal with the World as it is and to live with the messiness this implies, including dealing with some unpleasant characters. This is very much a European approach, something Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire regards as appeasement and acceptance of evil. Obama of Harvard Law is soft power, while Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire comes across as a military man who is only too willing to resort to force or the threat of force.

Obama of Harvard Law understands the limits of American power in a post-Iraq-war World, and this is an assessment that is shared by many European leaders. Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire talks of never surrendering in Iraq and of the continuing primacy of American power. This rhetoric plays better on the American campaign trail than it does with Europeans, who think such concepts are as archaic as Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire’s confessed non-use of the Internet (computer illiterate).

The REPUBLICAN s have been trying to take this disadvantage and turn it into a plus for Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire by arguing, as they did successfully against John F. Kerry, that Obama of Harvard Law is too European. Mitt Romney took up this theme last week, saying, “I do think that, frankly, Irish-American Barack Obama of Harvard Law looks toward Europe for a lot of his inspiration. Due to GOP REPUBLICAN ures, two-thirds of Americans believe the U.S. is less respected in the World today than it has been in the past. The poll also found that 60 percent of REPUBLICAN s felt this way, with 43 percent of GOP supporters regarding it as a major problem.

If Obama of Harvard Law is sworn in as president next January, there will be a major political climate change in transatlantic relations — in the direction of a welcome warming on both sides.

The conditions are ripe for a major improvement and transformation of transatlantic relations. The atmosphere will improve and the upside of an Obama of Harvard Law victory would clearly be greater.

My mother was born in the heartland of America and my father grew up in Kenya.

At the height of the Cold War, my father decided that his yearning and dream required the freedom and opportunity promised by the West. So he wrote letter after letter to universities all across America until somebody answered his prayer for a better life.

That is why I’m here. And you are here because you too know that yearning. This city knows the dream of freedom. And you know that the only reason we stand here tonight is because men and women from both of our nations came together to work, struggle and sacrifice for that better life.

Ours is a partnership that truly began sixty years ago this summer, on the day when the first American plane touched down at Templehof.

On that day, much of this continent still lay in ruin. The rubble of this city had yet to be built into a wall. The Soviet shadow had swept across Eastern Europe, while in the West, America, Britain, and France took stock of their losses, and pondered how the World might be remade.

This is where the two sides met. And on the twenty-fourth of June, 1948, the Communists chose to blockade the western part of the city. They cut off food and supplies to more than two million Germans in an effort to extinguish the last flame of freedom in Berlin.

The size of our forces was no match for the much larger Soviet Army. And yet retreat would have allowed Communism to march across Europe. Where the last war had ended, another World War could have easily begun. All that stood in the way was Berlin.

And that’s when the airlift began – when the largest and most unlikely rescue in history brought food and hope to the people of this city.

The odds were stacked against success. In the winter, a heavy fog filled the sky above, and many planes were forced to turn back without dropping off the needed supplies. The streets where we stand were filled with hungry families who had no comfort from the cold.

But in the darkest hours, the people of Berlin kept the flame of hope burning. The people of Berlin refused to give up. And on one fall day, hundreds of thousands of Berliners came here, to the Tiergarten, and heard the city’s mayor implore the World not to give up on freedom. “There is only one possibility,” he said. “For us to stand together united until this battle is won…The people of Berlin have spoken. We have done our duty, and we will keep on doing our duty. People of the World: now do your duty…People of the World, look at Berlin!”
People of the World – look at Berlin!

Look at Berlin, where Germans and Americans learned to work together and trust each other less than three years after facing each other on the field of battle.

Look at Berlin, where the determination of a people met the generosity of the Marshall Plan and created a German miracle; where a victory over tyranny gave rise to NATO, the greatest alliance ever formed to defend our common security.

Look at Berlin, where the bullet holes in the buildings and the somber stones and pillars near the Brandenburg Gate insist that we never forget our common humanity.

People of the World – look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a World that stands as one.

Sixty years after the airlift, we are called upon again. History has led us to a new crossroad, with new promise and new peril. When you, the German people, tore down that wall – a wall that divided East and West; freedom and tyranny; fear and hope – walls came tumbling down around the World. From Kiev to Cape Town, prison camps were closed, and the doors of democracy were opened. Markets opened too, and the spread of information and technology reduced barriers to opportunity and prosperity. While the 20th century taught us that we share a common destiny, the 21st has revealed a World more intertwined than at any time in human history.

The fall of the Berlin Wall brought new hope. But that very closeness has given rise to new dangers – dangers that cannot be contained within the borders of a country or by the distance of an ocean.

The terrorists of September 11th plotted in Hamburg and trained in Kandahar and Karachi before killing thousands from all over the Globe on American sOOIIILLLL.

As we speak, cars in Boston and factories in Beijing are melting the ice caps in the Arctic, shrinking coastlines in the Atlantic, and bringing drought to farms from Kansas to Kenya.
Poorly secured nuclear material in the former Soviet Union, or secrets from a scientist in Pakistan could help build a bomb that detonates in Paris. The poppies in Afghanistan become the heroin in Berlin. The poverty and violence in Somalia breeds the terror of tomorrow. The genocide in Darfur shames the conscience of us all.

In this new World, such dangerous currents have swept along faster than our efforts to contain them. That is why we cannot afford to be divided. No one nation, no matter how large or powerful, can defeat such challenges alone. None of us can deny these threats, or escape responsibility in meeting them. Yet, in the absence of Soviet tanks and a terrible wall, it has become easy to forget this truth. And if we’re honest with each other, we know that sometimes, on both sides of the Atlantic, we have drifted apart, and forgotten our shared destiny.

In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our World, rather than a force to help make it right, has become all too common. In America, there are voices that deride and deny the importance of Europe’s role in our security and our future. Both views miss the truth – that Europeans today are bearing new burdens and taking more responsibility in critical parts of the World; and that just as American bases built in the last century still help to defend the security of this continent, so does our country still sacrifice greatly for freedom around the Globe.

Yes, there have been differences between America and Europe. No doubt, there will be differences in the future. But the burdens of Global citizenship continue to bind us together. A change of leadership in Washington will not lift this burden. In this new century, Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more – not less. Partnership and cooperation among nations is not a choice; it is the one way, the only way, to protect our common security and advance our common humanity.

That is why the greatest danger of all is to allow new walls to divide us from one another. The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down.

We know they have fallen before. After centuries of strife, the people of Europe have formed a Union of promise and prosperity. Here, at the base of a column built to mark victory in war, we meet in the center of a Europe at peace. Not only have walls come down in Berlin, but they have come down in Belfast, where Protestant and Catholic found a way to live together; in the Balkans, where our Atlantic alliance ended wars and brought savage war criminals to justice; and in South Africa, where the struggle of a courageous people defeated apartheid.

So history reminds us that walls can be torn down. But the task is never easy. True partnership and true progress requires constant work and sustained sacrifice. They require sharing the burdens of development and diplomacy; of progress and peace. They require allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and, most of all, trust each other.

That is why America cannot turn inward. That is why Europe cannot turn inward. America has no better partner than Europe. Now is the time to build new bridges across the Globe as strong as the one that bound us across the Atlantic. Now is the time to join together, through constant cooperation, strong institutions, shared sacrifice, and a Global commitment to progress, to meet the challenges of the 21st century. It was this spirit that led airlift planes to appear in the sky above our heads, and people to assemble where we stand today. And this is the moment when our nations – and all nations – must summon that spirit anew.

This is the moment when we must defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it. This threat is real and we cannot shrink from our responsibility to combat it. If we could create NATO to face down the Soviet Union, we can join in a new and Global partnership to dismantle the networks that have struck in Madrid and Amman; in London and Bali; in Washington and New York. If we could win a battle of ideas against the communists, we can stand with the vast majority of Muslims who reject the extremism that leads to hate instead of hope.

This is the moment when we must renew our resolve to rout the terrorists who threaten our security in Afghanistan, and the traffickers who sell drugs on your streets. No one welcomes war. I recognize the enormous difficulties in Afghanistan. But my country and yours have a stake in seeing that NATO’s first mission beyond Europe’s borders is a success. For the people of
Afghanistan, and for our shared security, the work must be done. America cannot do this alone.

The Afghan people need our troops and your troops; our support and your support to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda, to develop their economy, and to help them rebuild their nation. We have too much at stake to turn back now.

This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a World without nuclear weapons. The two Obscene Superpowers that faced each other across the wall of this city came too close too often to destroying all we have built and all that we love. With that wall gone, we need not stand idly by and watch the further spread of the deadly atom. It is time to secure all loose nuclear materials; to stop the spread of nuclear weapons; and to reduce the arsenals from another era. This is the moment to begin the work of seeking the peace of a World without nuclear weapons.

This is the moment when every nation in Europe must have the chance to choose its own tomorrow free from the shadows of yesterday. In this century, we need a strong European Union that deepens the security and prosperity of this continent, while extending a hand abroad. In this century – in this city of all cities – we must reject the Cold War mind-set of the past, and resolve to work with Russia when we can, to stand up for our values when we must, and to seek a partnership that extends across this entire continent.

This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and Global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many. Together, we must forge trade that truly rewards the work that creates wealth, with meaningful protections for our people and our Planet. This is the moment for trade that is free and fair for all.

This is the moment we must help answer the call for a new dawn in the Middle East. My country must stand with yours and with Europe in sending a direct message to Iran that it must abandon its nuclear ambitions. We must support the Lebanese who have marched and bled for democracy, and the Israelis and Palestinians who seek a secure and lasting peace. And despite past differences, this is the moment when the World should support the millions of Iraqis who seek to rebuild their lives, even as we pass responsibility to the Iraqi government and finally bring this war to a close.

This is the moment when we must come together to save this Planet. Let us resolve that we will not leave our children a World where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands. Let us resolve that all nations – including my own – will act with the same seriousness of purpose as has your nation, and reduce the carbon we send into our atmosphere. This is the moment to give our children back their future. This is the moment to stand as one.

And this is the moment when we must give hope to those left behind in a Globalized World. We must remember that the Cold War born in this city was not a battle for land or treasure. Sixty years ago, the planes that flew over Berlin did not drop bombs; instead they delivered food, and coal, and candy to grateful children. And in that show of solidarity, those pilots won more than a military victory. They won hearts and minds; love and loyalty and trust – not just from the people in this city, but from all those who heard the story of what they did here.

Now the World will watch and remember what we do here – what we do with this moment. Will we extend our hand to the people in the forgotten corners of this World who yearn for lives marked by dignity and opportunity; by security and justice? Will we lift the child in Bangladesh from poverty, shelter the refugee in Chad, and banish the scourge of AIDS in our time?

Will we stand for the human rights of the dissident in Burma, the blogger in Iran, or the voter in Zimbabwe? Will we give meaning to the words “never again” in Darfur?

Will we acknowledge that there is no more powerful example than the one each of our nations projects to the World? Will we reject torture and stand for the rule of law? Will we welcome immigrants from different lands, and shun discrimination against those who don’t look like us or worship like we do, and keep the promise of equality and opportunity for all of our people?
People of Berlin – people of the World – this is our moment. This is our time.

I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we’ve struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the World have not lived up to our best intentions.

But I also know how much I love America. I know that for more than two centuries, we have strived – at great cost and great sacrifice – to form a more perfect union; to seek, with other nations, a more hopeful World. Our allegiance has never been to any particular tribe or kingdom – indeed, every language is spoken in our country; every culture has left its imprint on ours; every point of view is expressed in our public squares. What has always united us – what has always driven our people; what drew my father to America’s shores – is a set of ideals that speak to aspirations shared by all people: that we can live free from fear and free from want; that we can speak our minds and assemble with whomever we choose and worship as we please.

These are the aspirations that joined the fates of all nations in this city. These aspirations are bigger than anything that drives us apart. It is because of these aspirations that the airlift began. It is because of these aspirations that all free people – everywhere – became citizens of Berlin. It is in pursuit of these aspirations that a new generation – our generation – must make our mark on the World.

People of Berlin – and people of the World – the scale of our challenge is great. The road ahead will be long. But I come before you to say that we are heirs to a struggle for freedom. We are a people of improbable hope. With an eye toward the future, with resolve in our hearts, let us remember this history, and answer our destiny, and remake the World once again.

Winston Smith is a man in his late 30's and a member of the 'outer party' (lower of two classes). Winston Smith works for the Obscene SUPERCAPITALISM controlled government in one of the four main government buildings called the Ministry of Truth where his job is to rewrite history books in order for people not to learn what the past used to be like (the slogan of 'the party' is "who controls the past, controls the future."). As the book is beginning, Winston begins to contemplate setting himself against Obscene SUPERCAPITALISM GOP REPUBLICAN Big Brother Party, but of course is reluctant, knowing that even thinking about such a thing could easily result in his death. The three sentences sum up what the party stands for, and they are:

"WAR IS PEACE"
"FREEDOM IS SLAVERY"
"IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH"

All appear to be oxymoron's, but make some sense once the reader has progressed through the book, for example, the term "War is Peace" has a simple, but somewhat complex explanation.
The society in 1984 revolves around 3 'Obscene Superstates' which are Eurasia, Eastasia, and Oceania. All of these states are in a constant state of war with one another, yet all are self contained, and require no trade with one another, and therefore do not require war as a means of economical necessity. However, it is their feeling that as long as a constant state of war is prevailing, the people will be too preoccupied with the war effort to worry about whether or not the present political system is working. The government constantly reminds the people that when they win the war, Oceania will rule the world, and life will be better. So therefore, as long as the war is going (as it always will be), peace within the states can prevail.

Obscene SUPERCAPITALISM GOP REPUBLICAN Big Brother becomes suspicious of Winston, and he is therefore watched by O'Brien, an intelligent executive at the Ministry of Truth who is a member of the Inner Party (the upper wealthy class). After a bit of casual conversation at the workplace, he is invited to O'Brien's house where he denounces to him his thoughts and ideas about the WALL STREET Brotherhood. O'Brien mentions a gentleman named Emmanuel Goldstein whom he claims to know heads an organization for such the same purposes of which Winston spoke. O'Brien promises to help Winston, and promises him a copy of Goldstein's book.

Julia is the third and final main character of the book. She is an attractive young female who works with Winston at the Ministry of Truth. She is a member of the Outer Poor Party. They fall in love, but never marry because of existing laws in 1984. Julia eventually learns of Winston’s plans, and even helps him. However, unlike O'Brien, she does not betray him.

Eventually, Winston is caught and taken to a place "where there is no darkness" which are bright underground rooms where criminals are taken to be interrogated. He is tortured Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire-McBush style and mentally murdered so badly that by the end of the book he loves Obscene SUPERCAPITALISM GOP REPUBLICAN Big Brother, and cannot think a single thought without the permission of the party. Winston is tortured on several different occasions, and on all occasions it is done by his "teacher" - O'Brien. Almost the entire last 1/3 of the book is devoted to the dialogue that takes place during these torture sessions between O'Brien and Winston.

Winston turns out to be a textbook case of a person reformed by the WALL STREET GOP REPUBLICAN Party. By the end of the book, Winston is completely mentally dead. He cannot think or act for himself, and he is merely a toy of the party. He is useless to anyone (including the Obscene SUPERCAPITALISM GOP REPUBLICAN Party), and may as well be put to death, but is kept alive, probably as a trophy to Obscene SUPERCAPITALISM GOP REPUBLICAN Big Brother Party.

The Multiple Crisis are the fault of the Administration, Supreme Court, Congress and especially the GOP REPUBLICAN Party for allowing GOP REPUBLICAN International War Suspects McBush, Cheney, and Rice to lie, cheat and steal their way into the Highest Office on Earth and remain there for eight years. The Entire World thinks that America was ridiculous for allowing GOP REPUBLICAN criminals and scoundrels to steal their way into office not once but twice.

If you locked three Rock Wellers in a jewelry shop for eight years without Obscene Supervision, what would you expect upon returning? Why are Americans surprised that the three scoundrels McBush, Cheney, and Rice have smashed up the place and almost destroyed America in eight years? You should have expected bad things from those criminals eight years ago and stopped them back then. Instead of stopping the trillion dollar criminals, the GOP OWNED MEDIA OF MISINFORMATION (O’Reilly, FOX News, The New Yorker) went after the Dixie Chicks, Paris Hilton, Rosie O’Donnel, and Britney Spears. How stupid.

Now the GOP OWNED MEDIA OF MISINFORMATION (O’Reilly, FOX News, The New Yorker) pursues Boy George, because he might be a threat. What an incredibly stupid, stupid, and racist GOP OWNED MEDIA OF MISINFORMATION we have. The World is watching and laughing at our stupid GOP OWNED MEDIA OF MISINFORMATION and defunct WALL STREET robber barons greedy selfish shortsighted Obscene Supercapitalistic system. Since when does the prerequisite for becoming the President includes being a poor military academy student, out of action POW, computer illiterate, senior citizen and husband of a recovering drug addict/thief/criminal? Lobbyist McCain WALL STREET OOIIILLLL Millionaire is qualified to be a former POW and Mrs. McThief is qualified to be a recovering drug addict. What a pair and example for our youth. Romney the compulsive will not help our country as vice president. I say make the GOP REPUBLICAN fix their gigantic GOP REPUBLICAN Obscene SUPERCAPITALISM mess or impeach the defunct and failing GOP REPUBLICAN Party.

A Yonkers, N.Y., councilman whose home was bombed nearly four decades ago by the Weather Underground says Barack Obama should know better than to associate with the domestic terror group's co-founder, Bill Ayers.

"Barack Obama constantly says, 'I was only 8 years old when this happened.' That's kind of his throwaway line," John Murtagh told FOX News Thursday morning.

"I'm not questioning what Barack Obama was doing when he was 8 years old. I'm questioning his behavior as an adult to choose his friends, mentor and longtime personal and professional colleague."

Murtagh discussed the 1970 bombing as John McCain's campaign put renewed focus on Obama's ties to Ayers, who lives in Chicago and is an education professor at the University of Illinois.

Murtagh, whose father was a New York Supreme Court justice when his family's home was targeted, put out a statement on behalf of McCain's campaign Wednesday claiming "Barack Obama's friend tried to kill my family."

Obama has said his relationship with Ayers did not extend beyond serving with him on an education board in Chicago. He has condemned Ayers' Vietnam War-era attacks, and his campaign has said Obama did not know of Ayers' radical past when Ayers held a campaign event at his home for Obama in 1995.

But Murtagh cast doubt on the narrative out of the Obama campaign, saying it would make the Democratic presidential candidate "the dumbest man that ever graduated from Columbia and Harvard Law School" if he didn't initially know about Ayers' past.

Murtagh also alleged that Obama's ties to Ayers probably go back earlier, since Ayers' wife, Weather Underground radical Bernadine Dohrn, at one point worked at the same firm where Obama's wife, Michelle, worked.

"The Weather Underground launched an attack on our family home ... looking to kill us," Murtagh told FOX News. "I believe if the senator were to come clean and tell us the full story, we'd find out this relationship well predates the fundraiser held in the Ayers home. It goes back to the '80s."

McCain released a Web video Thursday criticizing Obama for his relationship with Ayers.

tiz00NOW, the cause of what you call "character attacks" (the truth can never be a "smear"), if that Barack Obama rose on the national scene only 4 years ago. You aren't complaining about "character attacks" against Sarah Palin, are you?

A Yonkers, N.Y., councilman whose home was bombed nearly four decades ago by the Weather Underground says Barack Obama should know better than to associate with the domestic terror group's co-founder, Bill Ayers.

"Barack Obama constantly says, 'I was only 8 years old when this happened.' That's kind of his throwaway line," John Murtagh told FOX News Thursday morning.

"I'm not questioning what Barack Obama was doing when he was 8 years old. I'm questioning his behavior as an adult to choose his friends, mentor and longtime personal and professional colleague."

Murtagh discussed the 1970 bombing as John McCain's campaign put renewed focus on Obama's ties to Ayers, who lives in Chicago and is an education professor at the University of Illinois.

Murtagh, whose father was a New York Supreme Court justice when his family's home was targeted, put out a statement on behalf of McCain's campaign Wednesday claiming "Barack Obama's friend tried to kill my family."

Obama has said his relationship with Ayers did not extend beyond serving with him on an education board in Chicago. He has condemned Ayers' Vietnam War-era attacks, and his campaign has said Obama did not know of Ayers' radical past when Ayers held a campaign event at his home for Obama in 1995.

But Murtagh cast doubt on the narrative out of the Obama campaign, saying it would make the Democratic presidential candidate "the dumbest man that ever graduated from Columbia and Harvard Law School" if he didn't initially know about Ayers' past.

Murtagh also alleged that Obama's ties to Ayers probably go back earlier, since Ayers' wife, Weather Underground radical Bernadine Dohrn, at one point worked at the same firm where Obama's wife, Michelle, worked.

"The Weather Underground launched an attack on our family home ... looking to kill us," Murtagh told FOX News. "I believe if the senator were to come clean and tell us the full story, we'd find out this relationship well predates the fundraiser held in the Ayers home. It goes back to the '80s."

McCain released a Web video Thursday criticizing Obama for his relationship with Ayers.

Mr. Balz,
I think it's sad that you've fallen into this trap of phony evenhandedness, which is certainly comfortable for you and puts you above being called partisan, but it is ultimately misleading about the cause of these character attacks. Like your colleague Ruth Marcus said, every campaign is flawed, but some more than others. When people read your stuff, they reasonably determine that "both sides equally are to blame." Are they both equally to blame? Really? Or is one side -- (the side that has a not-so-thinly veiled strategy to incite poor, uninformed whites to distrust an opposing black candidate) -- more to blame? And aren't you, as a journalist, responsible for pointing that out? Or for pointing out campaigns that are more decent than others? Because by making everything equivalent, you're basically splitting the country in half. Everything is simply what one side says versus what the other sides says. You want the reason the country is split? It isn't the candidates. It's the reporting. And I think before blaming the campaigns for the split in the country, perhaps you should take responsibility for the way you cover the campaigns and letting them air these worthless charges. You are as much to blame as anyone.

While Dan Balz laments the negative turn of both candidates' campaigns, the media -- the Wash Post included -- shares in the blame for covering the attacks. It would not violate any duty to be balanced for the Post simply to lead its stories saying that it (and other reputable publications like the New York Times) have examined the Ayers connection and found nothing there and that it will no longer cover the McCain attacks since they are no longer newsworthy or credible.

Dan Baltz, shame on you for equating Obama’s comments at par with McCain's. As a journalist, do you see no difference in their respective statements? You state - "Obama's words undermine not just McCain's positions but his person". What is it that Obama said that could have hurt McCain so much as being a distortion of his wretched positions? Who said that the economy was fundamentally sound? Who first refused to bail out the banks and then joined the band wagon? Who is the one questioning Obama's character? Who is suggesting that Obama is a liar? Who has brought his wife into criticizing Obama's vote? After all this you expect Obama to remain silent and then face the fate that John Kerry had to?

Dan, I see there is a need for balance, but not being able to call a spade a spade is a weakness that is unbecoming of a journalist, and my advice is for you to seek a different occupation. Please do not masquerade as a journalist when you have no sense of fairness.

BudO, I don't know what the values are in your country, but Americans demand a little more than what Sr. Obama has put on the table. Fairness in journalism DOES mean presenting both sides AND the truth. Sr. Obama specializes in hiding the truth. I, and millions like me, still have plenty of questions that go far beyond his experience and qualifications, and I can tell you: we don't like what we see. I will continue to push for explanations from Sr. Obama on the MANY unsavoury associations he has and to also explain his lack of action during the time he has spent as a legislator. The POTUS is not allowed to vote 'present' to hide his intent.

It's becoming very apparent that John McCain and Sarah Palin are more interested in trashing Obama than winning this election. Hardly a "Country First" attitude. They seem to resent the fact that they are being rejected by a majority of American voters, so they're left with indulging in anger orgies for the disaffected few who, out of fear or ignorance or both, cling desperately to old habits of bigotry and hate. Not pretty, but they are helping to reinforce the notion that evolution might actually be just a myth after-all.

This article is typical of the mainstream media coddling "honest" John McCain. It's disgraceful really. Yes there is some negativity in some of the ads and statements by Mr Obama. But they pale in comparison to the ruthless, lynching type rabble rousing that goes on in the McCain gatherings. How did you Mr Balz ignore hate words like "kill him", "liar" "Barack Hussein Obama"? Somehow your suprisingly small intellect chose to ignore this. How about you owning up to the fact that 100% of McCain's ads are negative and only 34% of Obama's are negative?
And the Democrats better answer and counterpunch on every cheap shot. History has taught the Democrats that to remain silent will make the lie appear as the truth. Just check out the Swiftboat attack ads.

It is a fact that when the current president announced during the midterm campaigns that "if the Democrats win, the terrorists win" that it made bipartisanship that much more unlikely. But let's note the Bush administration as the aberration it truly is in American history and move on. No other sitting president would have stooped so low as to make such an outlandish and un-American comment. No other presidential campaign is likely to end up with such scathing bad feelings on each side. Not even this one.

Mr. Blaz, your premise is hardy equal, but others have already pointed this out! My small input is slightly different: Those of us with an opinion have already made our choice. What the campaigns should be focusing on are those in the 10% or so who haven't. This group historically hates negativity; they want answers to real issues. Whoever is the vilest will lose.

I agree...but the good thing about that is that there aren't that many maybe about 1/4 of the US population if that and when you take a look at how they pay for those hateful feelings...it makes you pray for them....a lot of them are the factory workers, the ones without good healthcare, rural, not near any good healthcare systems, barely making ends meet, uneducated (the majority---just look at Mrs. Pallin), angry with minorities (as if they are in the position to make decisions), loosing their jobs because the factors are closed, loosing their homes becaue they lost their jobs, no 401K, etc....sometimes you wonder if they get what they actually deserve...I just feel bad for the ones who are caught up in this drama that aren't racist and don't want any parts of it...but they usually have a racist family member or neighbor...It truly is sad...that's why I could never support or rally behind Sarah Pallin or McCain....or any other republican

If the McCain campaign keeps pushing this Ayers connection, soon it will come out that Ayers had past connections with several Republicans who were close friends of the Regans. Once their hero is connected thusly, they'll drop this canard like a hot potato.

In 2004, America's malleable mainstream media allowed itself to be manipulated by artful Republican operatives into devoting weeks of broadcast attention and drums of ink to unfairly desecrating John Kerry's genuine Vietnam heroics while obligingly muzzling serious discussion of George W. Bush's shameful wartime record of evasion and cowardice.

Last week found the American media once again boarding Republican swift boats against this season's Democratic candidate armed with unfair and hypocritical attacks artfully designed by GOP strategists to distract attention from the cataclysmic outcomes of Republican governance. Vice Presidential hopeful Sarah Palin has taken to faulting Senator Barack Obama for his casual acquaintance with a respected Illinois educator Bill Ayers, who forty years ago was a member of the Weathermen, a movement active when Obama was eight and which he has denounced as "detestable." Palin argues that the relationship proves that Obama sees "America as being so imperfect that he is palling around with terrorists who would target their own country."

The Times dedicated a page one article to Obama's relations with Ayers and CNN's Anderson Cooper obliged Palin by rewarding her reckless accusations about Obama's patriotism with a major investigative report. Fox, meanwhile, is still riveting its audience with wall to wall coverage of this pressing irrelevancy.

But if McCarthy-era guilt-by-association is once again a valid political consideration, Palin, it would seem, has more to lose than Obama. Palin, it could be argued, following her own logic, thinks so little of America's perfection that she continues to "pal around" with a man--her husband, actually--who only recently terminated his seven-year membership in the Alaskan Independence Party. Putting plunder above patriotism, the members of this treasonous cabal aim to break our country into pieces and walk away with Alaska's rich federal oil fields and one-fifth of America's land base--an area three-fourths the size of the Civil War Confederacy.

AIP's charter commits the party "to the ultimate independence of Alaska," from the United States which it refers to as "the colonial bureaucracy in Washington." It proclaims Alaska's 1959 induction as a state "as illegal and in violation of the United Nations charter and international law."

AIP's creation was inspired by the rabidly violent anti-Americanism of its founding father Joe Vogler, "I'm an Alaskan, not an American," reads a favorite Vogler quote on AIP's current website, "I've got no use for America or her damned institutions." According to Vogler AIP's central purpose was to drive Alaska's secession from the United States. Alaska, says current Chairwoman Lynette Clark, "should be an independent nation."

Vogler was murdered in 1993 during an illegal sale of plastic explosives that went bad. The prior year, he had renounced his allegiance to the United States explaining that, "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government." He cursed the stars and stripes, promising, "I won't be buried under their damned flag...when Alaska is an independent nation they can bring my bones home." Palin has never denounced Vogler or his detestable anti-Americanism.

Palin's husband Todd remained an AIP party member from 1995 to 2002. Sarah can be described in McCarthy-era palaver as a "fellow traveler." While retaining her Republican registration, she attended the AIP's 1994 convention where the party called for a draft constitution to secede from the United States and create an independent nation of Alaska. The McCain Campaign has reluctantly acknowledged that she also attended AIP's 2000 Convention. She apparently found the experience so inspiring that she agreed to give a keynote address at the AIP's 2006 convention and she recorded a video greeting for this year's 2008 convention. In other words, this is not something that happened when she was eight!

So when Palin accuses Barack of "not seeing the same America as you and me," maybe she is referring to an America without Alaska. In any case, isn't it time the media start giving equal time to Palin's buddy list of anti-American bombers and other radical associates

McCain/Palin out there stirring up the wingnut crazy racists. They better be prayin right now that there is no physical attack on Obama. If they think the voters won't blame them, they better think again.

John McCain and Sarah Pig Palin should be ashamed of themselves. Pig Palin may not know any better the minion that she is- but John McCain should know better than to act like this. Country First my a$$.

I feel Mc Cain is fundamentally a good American. Someone we in the U.S. can count on. He would rule with a steady hand, has good morals, & values. Mc Cain has the experience we need in a leader. He is strong in his opinion on the finance issue, health care, education, the war, and the economy. There is no question about his loyalty he has a good background. Did not hang around with terrorists good references. Wears courage on his sleeve and puts his , OUR Country first. I will vote Mc Cain as will many here in Wisconsin!! Mc Cain does not put his mama in ads to get votes like Obama mammas little boy

Foreigners like myself are continually baffled by American journalists' need to show "balance" even at the expense of truth.

There's no way the fault is split equally. McCain's campaign and his nasty surrogate the demagogue Palin have openly announced their intention to degrade the discourse and resort to insult and innuendo. At least one of their advisers has admitted that THE WHOLE POINT is to distract voters from the economy, and "change the subject".

But Balz can't drop the US media "fair and balanced" act.

Fairness in journalism is not about being equally nice to both sides. It's about calling the truth, as best you can see it, without fear or favour.

I'm not saying Obama is perfect, but look at the facts: the ISSUE of the day is a clear winner for him. Since the economy has dominated the headlines, he's turned a 3-point deficit into an 11-point lead. So he WANTS to talk about the issues. McCain is desperate not to.

If you're too afraid to state the obvious, you end up saying nothing at all.

Please provide the source where you recieved the polling from Pennsylvania...CNN polls and MSNBC, and others have Obama with a 4-5 point lead in Pennsylvania...dere you go again...fightin with rhetoric and no true states....dog gonit!!

Balz seems to be taking the usual approach in trying to be even-handed by blaming both sides equally, even where that is not the case. McCain/Palin are saying that Obama gives aid and comfort to terrorists. This is treason. Obama is saying that McCain is erratic and has had ethical improprieties. One attack is a character assasination, and the other seems to be fair game. If Obama critisized Palin as supporting terrorists based on her associations with the AIP (whose leader was killed by plastic explosives), then the two sides would be equal. Right now, McCain is chiefly to blame. Accusing your opponent of supporting anti-American terrorists is way over the line. But once the gloves are off, I see no alternative for Obama but to strike back even harder (point out that Palin/McCain side with rapists, etc.)

At this point, with a lame duck president and two candidates, we are really hurting for leadership during a crisis. I wish the candidates would cut the negativity. I understand that the stakes are high now and why they go negative, I just wish they would stop. So unproductive.

The underlying message of this article is that the two campaigns are somehow equal in their attacks. This is not true.

McCain's attacks have been about Obama's character and have featured exaggerated claims based on associations that lead back over 40 years. The Ayers connection is tenuous and essentially irrelevant to Obama's ability to govern and lead.

In contrast, Obama's attacks have been squarely on the issue of how McCain has performed at this moment of high crisis for the nation.

Calling McCain "erratic" is a quite charitable observation about the past three weeks. During this short span, McCain first said the economy was "fundamentally sound," then called it a crisis, then called for a panel of experts to examine the problems, then called for the firing of the SEC chair, then retreated from that preposterous position, then volunteerd to "suspend" his campaign, then parachuted without invitation, into the delicate congressional negotiations over the bailout resulting in their destruction, then vowed to not go to the debate and then went to the debate, then claimed to have created the successful bailout package, then retreated from that baseless claim.

And all of this is just three weeks of miserable McCain behavior! This is most definitely erratic activity and it reveals a disordered, dysfunctional mind at work.

McCain's behavior in this economic crisis is a good test of his behavior under the pressures of the presidency. He is a risky choice for this office and his downright wierd behavior during the economic collapse is an excellent indication for us to draw lessons from.

Obama pointing out that McCain's behavior is erratic is not an unwarranted attack, it is simply good straight talk.

I agree with most of the posts - I don't see how you can compare the two. McCain's campaign has stooped to new depths. I think they've even had to dig to get even lower, which I wouldn't have thought possible.

When your incendiary rhetoric is inciting your supporters to threaten your opponent's life and call him a terrorist, you really need to stop and think about what you're doing.

Someone in Obama's camp said awhile back that reporters shouldn't get caught up in the symmetry of sin. Here's an example:

Dan's overarching attempt to appear fair and balanced loses sight of the reality of the diverging campaign styles. "…palling around with terrorists" and "teaching comprehensive sex ed to kindergartners" isn't code for anything. They are overt malicious distortions. The Obama camp has been responding with far less insinuation and stays close to the record. Of course pointing out that one side is playing dirtier than the other, that would take some cahones.

America is missing the point with all this character stuff. McCain is trying to get Obama Killed. Should Obama bring to the forefront the fact that McCain and Palin are creating an atmosphere that may prove to be very dangerous for Obama? Obama is still campaigning across the country in outdoor settings and someone could attempt to assassinate him. All this use of the word terrorist, traitor and treason is outrageous. The Blogs have increasingly become hostile, not only towards Obama but those who support him. Lately, journalist as well have been threatened on blogs and publicly ostracized by right wing fanatics. Should America be concerned that those who will "potentially" be leaders of this country are intentionally creating a volatile atmosphere where someone could be killed. Especially, during these tumultuous times. A man has killed his whole family because of financial difficulty. A 90 year old woman has shot herself in the chest because she was losing her home. If Obama had an unhealthy relationship with Bill Ayers wouldn't the FBI had done something about this already? Wouldn't they have been asking these questions and not McCain? Do they (McCain and Palin) not understand the country we live in? There are crazies and all types of Racist and Conspiracy minded individuals in this country that will stop at nothing once their beliefs are realized. McCain and Palin are doing an injustice to this country.

When you are loosing, and you campaign is going nowhere (in spite of the female dog), then you do the ony thing you can do: attack and smear the integrity of the other candidate, to no avail.
What do you have to loose when already you lost everything?

To see the unlikely pair, McCain and Palin, oddly smiling while shoveling the worst sort of false mud and racial inuendo is one of the low points in American political history. Why do they smile while mudslinging? At a mention of Barack Obama's name come shouts of "Kill him", and "Terrorist", and McCain and Palin say nothing ...nothing. They know perfectly well they are fomenting violence, and yet they do nothing. Shameful.

McCain is fortunate right now that all he's being called is "erratic," given that his history of angry outbursts is just about to break into the public consciousness. A lot of people are talking about the new Rolling Stone article, and now there's an online video in which fellow senators question whether he has a suitable temperament for the presidency (and an account of McCain striking a woman outside his office). http://www.raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=16544

So, exactly what is causing McCain’s poll numbers to plummet? Why is Senator Barack Obama’s campaign leaning toward a landslide? I have three simple reasons for you; the debates, Governor Sarah Palin and McCain’s own actions for the past 3 weeks.

Voters remember hearing earlier this year McCain say that government should not be helping people that are losing their homes because of bad judgments. They remember hearing and seeing McCain say not once but several times, "The fundamentals of the economy are fine."

Voters saw how McCain reacted to the bailout story. They saw that it was Senator Obama that approached McCain first, to ask about getting together and agreeing on a few criteria for a possible bailout. They saw how McCain waited almost six hours before responding to Obama’s phone call, only to go before the press to claim he was suspending his campaign to go back to Washington to help solve the bailout issue.

Voters also saw McCain say that he wanted to delay the first debate before the American people, claiming he wanted to give his undivided attention to the bailout bill. Voters saw and heard Senator Barack Obama point out that a President should be able to multitask (handle more than one problem at a time), saying the debate will go on even if it ends up being a townhall meeting with just himself answering questions.

Voters then saw McCain reverse course and show up at the debate. – following Obama’s lead.

Voters also saw news stories of McCain making fun of Obama using the phone to talk to other congressional members in hopes of helping during the bailout issue – only to see proof that McCain himself spent most of his time in Washington in his office – on the phone. They heard how he didn’t have any input at the White House during that meeting.

Voters have heard McCain repeat over several years that if he were president he’d veto any bill with pork in them – only to watch him VOTE for the bailout that ended up being the final bill that had pork in it. McCain then flip flopped and said he hope the president would veto that same bill that he had just voted for.

Independent Voters weren't impressed with Palin’s Jr High level debating skills and then the next day she came out making personal attacks against Senator Barack Obama. She insinuated that Obama was a terrorist because he worked on the same board as a reformed terrorist when Obama was eight years old. She stood on the stage allowing members in the audience to call Obama a "terrorist" and for someone to "kill him". Side Show Barbie and McCain allowed supporters to use Obama's middle name to scare voters into not voting for him.

Side Show Barbie and McCain both ignored the problems of the economy, deciding they would lose if the subject was the economy.

During the past two debates, voters saw that Barack Obama, could indeed, be a Commander-n-Chief. They saw him take on a Senator of 26 years and a nationally known war hero and former POW – with calm and with facts. They saw Obama’s vision, his calm way of approaching problems and his demeanor toward McCain. They also know how he came from virtually a nobody to beat then current Democratic Party leaders, Bill and Hillary Clinton.

McCain on the other hand showed his erratic behavior by saying one moment that we shouldn’t have government involvement and on the other hand saying let government buy up bad housing debt. Voters saw McCain being a rude man by refusing to even acknowledge that a fellow U.S. Senator was standing on the stage with him by his refusing to even look him in the eye during the first debate, and in the last debate, by calling Senator Obama "that one". They saw a man on the attack instead of a man with ideas.

The reason McCain appears to be losing this election is because of John McCain’s own actions – not 'just because' there is a bad economy. They also have seen a man that is ready to lead - Barack Obama.

There is a vast difference between what the McCain and Obama campaigns are doing.

McCain is dealing purely in innuendo. At he heart of his latest charge is the suggestion that because Obama knew this person, he must be like the person; he must share his radical beliefs. This is charge doesn't rest on any fact.

Obama, on the other hand, is making a claim that is basically true. Over the past month, McCain's response to the financial crisis has been erratic. First he suggests one fix, then another, then another. He's going to go to D.C. to save the day, but then he get's there and makes phone calls from his campaign HQ across the river.

So yes, they are both talking about character, but they are doing it in very different ways. McCain is making a character attack based on innuendo. Obama is making his based on fact.

That's very different, and it's difference you ignore in this article, to the detriment of your readers.

Why does the so-called "Liberal Media" always feel it has to balance out criticism of one side with equal criticism of the other, whether the latter is justified or not?

The fact that Obama is questioning McCain's ability to lead the country---something which any candidate for any office would be expected to do---does not in any way equate with the nonstop lies, smears, and character assassination dished out by McCain, Palin, and their cohorts.

It's interesting to me that the McCain camp continually accuses Obama of doing the very thing for which they, themselves, are the guilty party. On Tuesday, for example, Cindy McCain told a rally of supporters that Obama was running "the dirtiest campaign in American history." Oh, really?

If anything, I think Obama has been overly deferential towards, and respectful of, both McCain and Palin. His lead would be even larger than it is now if he and Biden were to point out more ways in which both McCain and Palin are singularly unqualified to lead the country.

McCain's ads are now virtually 100 percent negative; Obama's about 35 percent. McCain, and his gruesome, vicious, air-headed running mate, are accusing Obama of "paling around with terrorists" and using racial code words. Obama? He's rightly pointing out McCain's involvement in the very kind of scandal that is threatening our economy today.

To say the two are the same is misleading in the extreme.

But I expect no less from Balz, who has been in the tank for McCain since this campaign started.

I truly wish the Post would call him what he is -- a conservative pundit.

I would never support or rally behind a un-intellegent, dumb, classless, uneducated, PWT, pathetic, racebaiting racist redneck looser with a GED as her highest educational achievement to be our V.P. Nor would I ever rally behind a degenerated, old, classless, rich, geezer who literally sold his soul to the devil just so that he could get at least one month in as the Presidency before his VP and others deem his arse as senile and she takes over!!! I would laugh my arse off to watch those joe six packs from hickville USA who are afraid of "the black man in the room" and those pitbulls with lipstick on when their poor little sons and daughters, husbands, and wives, who can't get money to go to college gets drafted in a war in Afghanistan or Iraq, they loose their social security, continue to have no healthcare so they can't fix their rotten teeth, loose their houses, 401K's go hungry and end up in the cheese line because the rethuglicans aren't even giving you welfare....they hate welfare...so your racist arses will just have to deal with the results of your poor judgment and decisions!!! I and 18,000,000 + million voters won't rally behind them....most of us have common sense and realize that we aren't going to bite off our noses to spite our faces....So I say, go ahead vote for those to hateful racist cr$ckers, you and your families will deserve all the he$$ and heavy burdens that you get!! And you will have to bare them well!

Wait a second here. Usually, he who fires the first shot is held responsible for the war.

McCain announced he was bringing in Ayers as A STRATEGY, then Palin went around with the incredibly incendiary claim that he was "palling around with terrorists." Obama never went into the Keating Five until this moment, and his criticisms of McCain, even when personal, have mostly stayed close to policy.

Calling McCain erratic on financial crisis seems to me a whole hell of a lot more relevant than calling Obama a terrorist-supporting liar because he served on a board with some guy.

But moreover, what was Obama supposed to do? Just ignore it? Yeah, that worked great for John Kerry, didn't it? He had no choice, and if McCain is going to throw elbows, Obama has got to respond in kind or else appear weak.

This is just another example of the media equivicating in the middle rather than using their own powers of perception to call it like it is.

The truth is that McCain is desperate and he is throwing all he has at winning, even if it means tearing everything else down. Say what you will about whether that reveals a courageous belief in his righteousness or a cowardly lack of his own positive vision, but to ignore that McCain is at fault for the lowering of the bar is a preposterous affront to truth.

Does anyone have any information about John McCain's medical history that would shed light on whether he has had his spine and manly parts removed?

The question comes to mind after his wife, Cindy, and running mate, "Siss-Boom-Bah" Sarah Palin have made the most scurrilous Big Lie-type attacks against Barack Obama.
Yet on the night of the debate, John McCain could only bleat out a tinny "That One," but showed no stomach--intestinal fortitude--for bringing up the Ayers, et. al. nonsense.

(Ayers being that guy who was funded by the foundation of a Ronald Reagan friend.)

Rumor has it if you look behind the skirts of Cindy McCain and Sarah Palin, even today you can see John McCain peeking out like Alfred E. Neuman.

Here are the LASTING CONSEQUENCES of all of these personal negative attacks. The country remains divided ... no bipartisan work out of the Congress ... OLD TIME POLITICS as usual. NO CHANGE ... NO HEALING after 8 years of Clinton and another 8 years of GW Bush ... Do we deserve this?

That leftist liberal, community organizer, socialist, commie, pinko, leninist, trotsyite, maoist, muslim islamo-fascist terrorist and friend of terrorists, disciple of black rage Rev. Wright and reader of the Autobiography of Malcolm X and groomed at Harvard to boot is PRESIDENT of the United States of America.

In our last episode, we saw the indomitable, impulsive duo suspend the campaign to take on the Crisis on Wall Street! Now, watch, as, in our next episode...McCain Goes Negative!

McCain paces the floor in the Fortress of Irritability. He is cracking walnuts.

A walnut slips to the floor.

McCain: Damn nutcracker!

Sarah Palin is sitting in a chair at a desk. She is writing on a piece of paper: "J.M + S.P." This is then crossed out and replaced by "S.P. + J.M.". These alternating versions , the one before it always crossed out, continues down the page.

McCain: Well, the first plan didn't work. We tried to put them in a trance with the folksy ray, but they had their deflectors halfway raised. If only you hadn't called the commander in Afghanistan "McClellan"

Palin: But...didn't you say they were fighting a civil war, Sir?

McCain looks at Palin silently. He is smiling but he is holding back anger.

McCain: I think the time has come. We have to call in...Dr. Negative.

He pushes a large black button, which is the only button, on a red phone on his desk.

Dr. Negative immediately bursts through the door. He is carrying flyers, masking tape; telephone wires are wrapped around his arms hanging in every way; a tattered copy of the book "Accusations of Fascism, Communism, Terrorism, Drug Use, Pedophilia, Islamism, Adultery, Pandeism, Cannibalism, Cubism, Miscegenation, and Spousal Abuse...for Dummies!" is rolled and stuffed in his left pocket, filled with bookmarks; he is dragging a Robocaller behind him, leashed to a chain.

Dr. Negative (quickly, eagerly): Did you hear? Obama was born in Bin Laden's subterranean bomb making factory, outside of U.S. lines. He was born on a pile of cocaine and dynamite--and the midwife was a Trotskyite!

McCain: Not yet, Dr. Negative. I want you to meet Sarah.

Sarah: Oh, we've already met.

Dr. Negative: That trooper went down! He poisoned the salmon milk at the Wasilla Bible school! With drugs made at a Leftist Satan worshiping collective! That you could see from Russia!

Sarah: You betcha'!

Sarah and Dr. Negative give each other a high five. Dr. Negative's telephone wires rattle on his arm as he does so, triggering the Robocaller, which starts playing "...illegitimate babies made in test tube factories in North Korea and sent to Chicago by Bill Ayers..."

Dr. Negative shuts off the Robocaller with an embarassed smile.

Dr. Negative: Just practicing.

There is a pause.

McCain: That's fine, Dr. Negative. That's fine. Because, now, I have a special job for you. An important one.

Dr. Negative leaps into the air with excited glee. As he does, detritus falls to the floor--buttons reading "Election Day: Remember, the 3rd Tuesday in November!", business cards, reading "Push Polls Anonymous--We Call, They Fall", "Mongers On Call-No Rumor Too Far fetched"; Bandaids with purple hearts; mangled and dirty chads.

Dr. Negative quickly pulls a can out of his right pocket, emblazoned with the word "Radical" He opens the top. Red and Black snakes fly out.

Dr. Negative: (eagerly, expectantly, hungrily) Yes...Yes...

McCain: You'll have to start rumors that are so inflammatory that they will spread like wildfire, and that will be started too late to stop them with the actual truth...

Dr. Negative pulls a gigantic grinder out of his left pocket. It is labeled "Rumor Mill". He turns the crank a few times. Hamsters, syringes, and Peace symbols fly out.

Dr. Negative: Yes...Yes...

He is salivating.

McCain: They will have to be so incredible, so over-the-top, based on such tawdry and poorly sourced evidence, yet riddled with tempting minutia--bullet gauges, Google maps of supposed meetings and the like, that the right will eat them up, and start analyzing the minutia with adolescent glee.

Dr. Negative reaches into his back pocket, pulls out a manila envelope labeled "Minutia: So-called "Proof" for the Right". He empties it to the floor. Bullet gauge measures, outdated copies of Photoshop, paperbacks entitled "How to Use the Insane as Competent Witnesses", "The Faked Moon Landings! Roswell! And Other Believable Phenomena!" and "You TOO Can Be A Warrior--From Your Own Couch!" fall to the floor.

McCain: You will have to play the card that they played against me. Do you understand?

The room becomes silent. Sarah stops looking at herself, and looks towards the center of the room where McCain and Dr. Negative are staring at each other.

Dr. Negative: You mean...(eyes widened with disbelief. His telephone wires are quietly shaking as he shivers).

McCain (nodding): Yes.

Dr. Negative slowly removes from his jacket pocket what seems to be an ordinary pack of playing cards. They are labeled "Joker" brand. He takes a penknife from his pocket, and slowly slices the covering cellophane. There is a slight and distant roar. He looks at McCain.

McCain nods.

Dr. Negative then slowly removes the red ribbon encircling the cellophane at the top of the pack. He inserts the penknife--holding it from it very farthest end--and flips open the top of the pack.

Smoke begins to pour from the top of the pack, thick, acrid smoke. It quickly fills the room, covering all that is in sight.

McCain (shouting amidst the sound of smoke rushing into the room): And remember--no fingerprints!

I don't buy the equivalency here. Responding to attacks by fighting back is different from launching them in the first place.

Obama has acknowledged McCain's heroism from the very start of the campaign (as conceded here), but McCain has never paid even lip service to his opponent's character and qualifications. Obama even mentioned this contrast in his speech back on June 2 when he went over the top on the number of delegates. Paraphrasing, he said, I acknowledge John McCain's character and achievements even if he chooses not to acknowledge mine.

This divisive, contemptuous, nasty attitude from McCain dates back throughout the campaign and it is rewriting history to pretend it is something particularly new. They didn't nickname him McNasty for nothing.

Twenty one years in the Senate, two terms in the House, twenty two years in the Navy, and lest we forget five years as a POW, and this is it? This is the way that John Sidney McCain III, son and grandson of admirals decides to exit stage far, far right?

Unable to defend his stance on the issues, unwilling to follow the rules of honor he claimed to endorse, undone by his own anger and shadows from his past, this man, this self-proclaimed maverick goes for the sidelines with the most embarrassing series of schoolyard taunts and sophomoric smears in modern times. How crass. How despicable. How utterly and deeply pathetic.

Pitiful is the word, really, both in the sense of contemptible and in arousing a kind of sick feeling of concern. To have done and seen so much, to have had so many opportunities, to have been given a second chance long after most men had given up the game. And then to spend it this way.

McCain didn't have the guts to mention Ayers name while face-to-face with Obama, instead waiting until he was safely back in his cocoon of race-baiting rallies and Fox News interviews before going with his latest lie and smear campaign. Pitiful.

Dear Dan Baltz: Really? Both candidates are participating in character attacks? Do you really believe that? In my state, NV, I've seen approximately 20 McCain attack adds for evey one Obama attack add. Obama actually has more adds but they aren't attack adds. Some of McCain's attack adds are from his campaign, others, about 1/4 seem to be from, I dunno, the RNC? I recently read, it might even have been your paper, that nearly 100 percent of McCain's adds were attack, whereas about 33 percent of Obama's were. From my couch, that seems overly generous to McCain. Just asking: Do you live in D.C. or Virginia? I'm sure the vantage point from D.C. is a lot different than Virginia. Just asking. Isn't this post you've written yet another attempt to be "objective" -- when the facts on the ground call for some solid reporting?

I have yet to hear or read a Republican viewpoint of Sarah Palin and her husband's involvement with the AIP.

Since they think a fleeting relationship with a man who committed crimes for which he was acquitted for is so important one would think they would at least have an opinion on the AIP.

So, Republicans out there, do you have an opinion? Or do you have the same poilitical cowardice as McCain and his cuckoo-clock Palin?

Some background on the AIP's founder:
"Vogler (founder of the AIP) was murdered in 1993 during an illegal sale of plastic explosives that went bad. The prior year, he had renounced his allegiance to the United States explaining that, "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government." He cursed the stars and stripes, promising, "I won't be buried under their damned flag...when Alaska is an independent nation they can bring my bones home." Palin has never denounced Vogler or his detestable anti-Americanism"

If John McCain put country first he would silently fold his tent and go away.
At this point in time he wouldn't recognize honor if he tripped over it. This man makes headlines simply by catering to his militant, fundamentalist base. The world is watching and I’ll take any bet, they want to deal with a calm, cool, intelligent, level headed candidate, who’s very demeanor implies a steady and thoughtful hand on the tiller instead of McCain’s isolationist, military-first governance from a war-hawk, who can’t seem to realize, his time has come and passed. No matter where you live, no matter which nation you hail from or to which political ideology you tend to adhere, the Bush/McCain approach to leadership; belligerent, militaristic, religiously closed-minded, culturally stagnant, environmentally reckless, fiscally irresponsible; has resulted in one of the most epic collapses of a world power in modern history, which in turn has made the rest of the world a more volatile, hostile place for all. Obama is not perfect, he is not a demigod, he is a man, plain and simple. His ideas appear to be well thought out and with everyone’s help in the electorate will help return us to the once great and prosperous nation we once were. Suffice it to say it will take years to undo what Busheconomics has done to us. I for one am willing to put in the work and the time to make my small contribution in whatever way I can to return us back to the dignity we once enjoyed. Are you?

McCain IS "in some way unstable and therefore unacceptable." He has never had executive experience and run anything, unless you include his campaign (badly run at best). He makes a good Senator, but he IS to erratic and impulsive, too much of a gambler, to be in the White House. That's a fact.